Elsword: RSFB Stories
by WolfenVaHeron
Summary: After their battles in Lanox, the Elgang decided to take a break in Velder, but their luck isn't always good. Based off of the storyline from the Elsword: Rune Slayer facebook page. Rated Teen due to violence, swearing, and possible gore. (Will not be updated quickly due to large chapters [more like installments, but oh well])
1. 1 IS-Corruption

**Elsword RSFB Stories-Story 1-IS: Corruption**

* * *

 **Disclaimer-This is a non-profit, fan-based story. Note that we own none of the characters or skills of the Elsword Franchise, they belong to Nexon, KOG, and KillerCombo (if I missed anyone, sorry) And note that any OCs belong to me (The hooded man in this chapter).**

 **Note: the narrator is RS's Admin, so there will be some breaking walls, and due to the story being originally from the FB page, I decided to release the full thing at once since the Chapters/Posts there were a little short for chapters on here.**

* * *

In the city of Velder, it was the beginning a bright sunny day outside, the streets were filled with vendors ready to set up shop for the day; a few pedestrians up early enough in the morning to avoid the crowds that would come later; guards tired of their late night shifts, waiting for their relief to finally let them go off to sleep; and a few businessmen, ready to start th-

BOOM!

…Really?...I can't get the full introduction in?...sigh

The explosion came from a large house, not far from the palace, and it housed the group of heroes that had saved Velder less than-

"WHO THE HECK BLEW A HOLE IN MY ROOM?"

…you know what, screw the intro, let's just start the plot, they aren't waiting for me…

"Sorry IS" A white haired (with a ponytail) man in his early 20s said to a boy with red spikey hair with a small bit of black on one side. "Just a little busy here-RS YOU GET BACK HERE AND FACE YOUR DEATH LIKE A MAN!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, chasing a certain redhead down the hallway.

"I said I'm sorry!" said the said redhead, whose spikey hair had been put into three braids, still running from MM's rage induced dynamos.

IS watched with no words to say as MM chased RS down the hallway. He then saw a girl with platinum hair watching from the hallway where the two had come from earlier. "…what did RS do this time?"

The girl, who went by the name Code Nemesis, looked at him with a smile on her face "He spilled coffee on MM's jacket…it was hilarious."

IS let out a sigh and replied "…he would snap from that…so, how long you think it'll be until GA interven-"

Then a woman's voice suddenly yelled "QUIT IT YOU LOUD IDIOTS!" her yelling loud enough to be heard from all the way from the other side of the building, as well as the sounds of RS and MM yelling in terror as GA quickly beat them senseless.

CN looked toward where the noise was and said "…well, I believe that answers your question"

"Yeah…" he replied, looking down the hallway, feeling slightly sorry for the pain those two now had to endure, but then when he noticed a certain note on the wall in his room, he remembered what plans he had for the day…which pretty much made him forget about that pity. "Hey Eve, guess what day it is today"

"The date is May 19th, 2015" she said after checking her internal calendar.

IS looked at her slightly puzzled, but then replied "Yeahhhh…but what happened this day about 3 years ago?"

"Ummmm" she replied while trying to look through her memory bank, but when she found what she was looking for, she suddenly had that sort of eureka moment, though with the phrase "oh!"

"It's the anniversary of when we first met" he said with a smile

It was a fond memory for them, when IS was a Sheath Knight, had found CN as a base Eve sitting in a corner, where she had hid for days to hide from the out of control nasods. When he held his hand out to her and said

 _"I'll be your friend!"_

Shortly afterwards, she had met the rest of the group, and after learning that RS was the one who pretty much damaged the Altera core to the point of almost being unrepairable, slapped RS along with her sisters until he went unconscious…ok, back to the present.

"Yes it is that day I guess" she said, with a slight hint of red on her cheeks.

IS then spoke "So I was thinking, maybe we could go to the festival they're having in town later" and soon enough he started to blush as well "You know, just the two of us…"

"Sure" she said with a smile on her face.

"Great! So what time do you want to-" and once again he was interrupted, though this time, it was an arrow shot right next to his face, and RS and MM running in between them.

"YOU TWO GET BACK HERE AND FACE YOU-oh sorry about that IS-YOUR BEATING LIKE THE MEN YOU SAY YOU ARE!" a blonde elf known to them as Rena GA yelled as she continued to chase the two down the hall

"…4 o'clock?" IS said, while looking down the hall, with a slight look of fear on his face

"Sounds good" CN replied, having the same look on her face as well

Little did the two know though, that this anniversary, would not be like the rest they had…

* * *

Despite the fact that the sun was making its descent across the horizon, the city had become lit up with lanterns everywhere and its streets crowded with people.

It was one of the annual festivals they celebrated in Velder. It was one of the reasons why the Elteam came back after the business that occurred in Lanox. GrM, one of IS's older sisters, had decided that everyone needed a break after that, and considering the town of Velder decided to have their festival despite the fact portions of the city were still in repair, she saw it as a good opportunity.

As the festivies went on, IS and CN were walking down one of the many streets that were filled to the brim with all sorts of stalls of games, food, and merchants.

"So, where do you want to go first?" IS asked CN.

"How about over there!" she said, pointing toward a booth that was the classic knock over prizes with toy guns.

"Alright!" IS replied.

As they walked over, they saw WS and DC walking away from it, with a medium sized stuffed animal (well phoru to be exact) in WS's arms.

"Hey IS! What's up?" DC said to the red head.

"Just walking around the festival with CN" IS replied.

"Ah, so it's a date then?" DC said with a grin on his face.

"I could say the same to you." IS replied back.

"Well, at least I admit it! Good luck dood!" DC said as he and WS walked away.

"Sigh, sometimes I wonder if I should hit him" IS said before CN tugged his arm. "Hmm? What is it Eve?"

CN looked a little sad, and he noticed that she had not won any of the prizes.

 _Huh, guess she's only good with real guns_ he thought. "Alright, I'll give it a shot. What are you trying to get?"

She pointed toward a large Moby on the top shelf, and bunch of the toy bullets surrounding it from CN trying to shoot it down.

"Alright, let's do this!" He said as he put the money on the table and aimed the gun toward the Moby.

A few minutes later, CN had the Moby in her arms, and IS looked at his wallet which was now much lighter. But as he looked at the smile on CN's face, he decided he didn't mind. After all, it wasn't until a year or so ago that she showed any sort of smile towards him that didn't look like a pokerface.

As he opened his eyes, he noticed CN was no longer besides him, but now trying to play the dunk tank, which RS happened to be in.

"Why me?" Rune said right before CN hit the target, causing him to take a nice cold dip.

"Because, we need to pay for the repairs…or face more of GA's wrath" MM said with a slight shiver incurred from the memory of earlier that day. He then proceeded to hand CN another ball, which hit the mark right as RS sat down, catching him by surprise as he fell into the tank once again.

IS couldn't help but laugh a little and join CN in dunking his brother.

However, just as he grabbed a baseball, the sound of an explosion, and screaming, rang from somewhere in the city.

* * *

Once again, a large portion of the city of Velder was lit by a bright, malevolent flame, with glitter demons once more crowding what were just streets filled with laughter and smiles less than an hour ago.

It made IS's blood boil a little, but as he saw CN, RS, and MM running next to him, he calmed down and kept himself from going into a bloodrage.

Then he noticed an old man, probably in his 50s, getting surrounded by a group of the demons. CN noticed as well, and so they split apart to hit them from three sides.

"CRESCENT CUT!"

"ATOMIC BLASTER!"

"SPLASH EXPLOSION!"

"PHANTOM SEEKER!"

The demons stood no chance as they were caught off guard, the combined attack taking the whole lot of them.

Except for one, who then charged towards CN, only to have IS's Harsh Chaser piece through its skull. After it fell, IS went to help the old man up.

"You alright?" IS said to the man.

"My leg…" he replied, as he held it in pain.

Suddenly, RS spoke "Alright, listen" as if though taking charge. "I'll get the old man to safety. MM, I need you to find the others."

MM then retorted "And who gave you permission to-"

"Listen, we don't have the time for that right now" RS retorted to MM's reply, for a moment his eyes showing the same seriousness as his older brother, LK, in his eyes.

MM looked like he was about to retort, but being caught off guard, he shrugged "Fine, looks like we'll need the help anyhow."

"And you two" RS said as he looked toward IS and CN. "Try to hold them off, alright?" he asked the couple.

"Don't worry bro! We got it!" IS said with a cocky look on his face.

"Alright, I trust you two. And break!" RS said as the group separated. RS running towards the part of Velder that was still untouched with the injured citizen on his back, MM flying through the sky towards the El Scouts' house, and IS and CN right towards the city in flames.

* * *

"Man, is it just me, or are these things a lot more easy to fight than last time" IS said as they walked away from where the two had taken out about a dozen of the intruders.

"Yes, though something doesn't add up to me." CN replied, her pokerface almost completely void of emotion.

"Don't worry about it Nemesis, it's just we got stronger after we left here before!" IS said with a grin on his face.

"I suppose…anyhow, considering how dense the amount of soldiers are getting, we should be near the center of their formation."

IS then looked down the road that led to a nearby square. "Well then, let's get to it!" he said as he began to run towards the center, CN right behind him.

As they came into the plaza, a group of about a dozen or so Glitter Commanders looked toward the duo, ready for combat. But however, IS dashed into the middle of the group as he yelled:

"RAGE CUTTER!"

The demons flew into the air as magical blades burst from the ground.

And they flew right into CN's aim.

"ASSUALT SPEAR!"

Almost all of them were skewered by the attack, save the one or two who happened to be out of harm's way, who were now on the ground

Just as IS ran towards the demons while they recovered from the fall, CN thought for a moment.

 _Something isn't right…_

Suddenly, she heard a pebble tumble from behind her.

And before she could turn around…

 _ **SHANK!**_

She screamed for a moment as a spear went through her body.

IS turned around to her voice, seeing the dreadful scene unfold before him.

"No! NOOO! NEMESIS!"

* * *

"NOOO! NEMESIS!" IS yelled, holding out his hand as he ran towards her.

The demon laughed as he watched IS's despair. But seeing how IS was coming closer, he quickly withdrew his spear from CN's body and retreated the moment.

 _No….this can't be happening…just now…she…_ he thought as CN fell to the floor.

"KYAH!" she screamed as she fell, the ground catching her fall yet causing her new injury to only become worse.

"Nemesis!" he said as he helped her sit up. "Just hang in there!" he continued, the worry he felt clearly shown on his face.

She pushed his hand away for a moment while holding her other hand toward her wound. And she said while shaking a little "Don't worry…"

"I'll be fi-" she tried to continue, but as she removed her hand, she noticed it was soaked in blood. Her blood. She quickly tried to hide it, trying not to worry IS.

IS had clearly noticed it though as he replied "You're bleeding…"

Suddenly, the demon from before had returned once again. A smirk on his face as he approached the two of them, laughing his demonic laugh.

"KUKUKU"

"Ah! It's coming back." CN said as the demon began to run towards them. She noticed that IS was moving somewhat sluggishly, still slightly in shock from what happened.

 _I have to….protect Infi_ she thought as she raised her hand.

"ATOMIC SHIELD"

A shield then began to appear around them.

 _Even if this action…costs me…MY LIFE!_

"S-Stop it!" IS said as he noticed CN's wounds becoming worse as she used her skill.

"It's ok…I'll be fine…" she replied, her voice growing more and more faint.

Suddenly, a voice rang through IS's head.

 _She's going to die…_

IS tried to ignore the voice as he yelled "I SAID STOP! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF?"

CN was surprised by this remark, and she realized that her dying as just as bad as him dying for IS.

But it was already too late. Her eyelids began to grow heavy. She could barely feel anything but IS's warmth.

The dark voice rang in IS's head once again.

 _Because you're weak…Just give in…_

In the last moment before she closed her eyes, she said one last thing to her friend, her lover.

"Elsword…I'm so…sorry…"

Her eyes closed as the dark voice said

 _TO YOUR HATE!_

He barely listened, as he held CN in his arms.

"Nemesis?"

He shook her a little, but no response came from her.

"…Hey Nemesis…No…" he said as tears began to run down his face.

 _I'll kill them_ he began to think, being influenced by the dark voice's words as he cried out, holding CN in his arms. Demon reinforcements began to gather around the square.

 _I'll kill…_ he continued to think as the shield began to fade. The demon ran right for him as soon as the barrier fell, encouraged by the appearance of its allies.

However, in almost an instant, IS stood up and as he summoned Conwell, used it to piece right through the demon's skull in a downward motion.

 _ALL OF THEM!_ He thought as his eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty rage.

* * *

One statement could describe IS's fighting style as he fought and killed demon after demon in that square.

Pure rage.

He fought as if though he was a being of pure rage and malice, fighting and killing every demon he saw, each and every one of them reminding him of the demon that had impaled the one he cared for the most.

The demon's encirclement grew weaker and weaker, as IS broke into parts of the groups, and killed them with almost inhuman speed and strength, fueled by his desire to avenge the girl now lying on the ground.

All of those he fought though were slashed to pieces either by the two blades in his hands, or by the extra ones he summoned, and his aim never faltered.

Some of the demons in the back of the lines began to back up in fear of the redhead's fighting style, but then, a male succubus demon clothed in black walked between them and into the encirclement.

"Sometimes, it's better to do it yourself." he said as he drew out his own pair of swords.

As soon as IS noticed him, he rushed toward him, blades ready to slice through his chest.

However, the succubus blocked his barrage with parries made at inhuman speed.

"Well well well, you're strong, but not enough." He said with a smile on his face.

"SHUT UP!" IS yelled in reply as he then used his Crescent Cut skill multiple times, which the demon dodged with ease.

"It's pointless!" the demon said as he went to slash IS in the stomach. IS managed to block the hit, but the force of the blow was enough to send him backwards.

"Just give up already. You're too weak to protect this city!" the demon said as he rushed IS and knocked away his Conwell sword.

Once more the voice rang in his head as the succubus prepared his swords for the final blow. A cross cut.

 _You're too weak…so get out of my way! HUHAHAHAHA!_

And then, everything went black for IS.

Suddenly, IS moved much more quickly, catching one of the blades in his hand, and blocking the other with his sword.

"What!" the demon exclaimed in surprise.

As IS raised his head, the succubus realized he was no longer dealing with the same boy who fought him out of rage.

IS's face was slowly being covered by a black mask, his eyes had become a shade of yellow, and instead of a face filled with rage, he had the smile that reeked of insanity.

IS then kicked the succubus in the stomach, kicking not only the air out of him, but sending him through the air into a group of the demons surrounding the square. As the demon general got back up, he looked to see the red head walking towards him.

"What's the matter? Where's all your talk?" IS said, his voice mixed with the pitch of that of the boy, and of a demon.

"What are you? Some kind of demon?" the general said as an idea began to pop into his head.

"Who cares? As long as I don't have that fool to restrain me, I'm free to do whatever I want" the demonic IS replied, walking towards the succubus, sword still in hand.

"If you want destruction, you can join us. All you need to do is swear your fealty to the demon king" the succubus continued, causing his men to begin to mutter. He looked back at them and yelled "QUIET!", causing them to fall silent out of fear.

"So, do we have a deal?" he said, holding out his hand.

The half-demon grin his wicked grin once more as he answered the succubus' question

"…about that…"

Suddenly, a sword appeared from under the general, grazing the general's shoulder as the sword flew upward.

"I am my own master, and you nearly killed me earlier, so how about you all die instead!" the half-demonified IS yelled in glee as he ran towards the demons at inhuman speed. The demons, still slightly shivering in shock, quickly raised their weapons to greet their opponent.

But they were no match. The half-demon dodged, slashed, and pierced every single demon that came into his path with the blades in his hands as well as the Conwells that seemed to appear out of nowhere. And he wasn't even using his hyperactive.

As a group of demons began to try and surround him, he laughed as he summoned a Conwell to his hand and used Harsh Chaser. But he used it much differently than IS. He began to flick his wrist in such a way that it began to act like a whipblade, tearing apart every single demon around him.

However, the succubus general ran past the destructive path of the blade and towards IS, ready to kill him for sure.

Just as he was about to attack, the red head suddenly disappeared. But then, the demon heard a voice behind him, causing his eyes to widen in fear.

"You're just too slow"

IS cut through his left arm with two blades in hand, causing the demon to yell in pain as blood gushed from his wound.

"You're all so pathetic…you're all so weak...I'd thought you would be more of a challenge" the demonic IS said in glee, his face now almost completely covered in the black mask, which began to cover his neck as well.

"Oh well, guess I might as well wrap things up here." He said as his grin grew into a maniacal smile as he began to prepare his blade for the finishing blow.

Suddenly, a voice called out.

"In…fi"

It had came from the center of the plaza.

"Infi…don't…"

It was CN, who despite being unconscious, said the one set of words that could stop IS's demon side.

 _Get out._ IS voice rang through the half-demon's head.

"No…..dammit not now!" he said, holding his hands to his head as if though he had a massive headache.

 _I said, GET OUT!_ His voice rang once more, causing the mask on his face to start to crack.

"I just got out dangit! At least let me kill him! LET ME KILL HIM!" he screamed as he began to sway back and forth, holding his hands to his head as the pain intensified for him.

 _GET OOOOOOUUUTT!_ IS's voice yelled in his head.

"YOU DAMNED FOOOOL!" he yelled as the mask on his face broke, his eyes returning to the shade of red they were once before.

Just as he broke through though, he fell to the ground, unconscious.

The succubus looked at the boy, his eyes now somewhat calm as he picked himself off the ground.

 _I thought he was like Ran at first, considering the black skin, but he is completely unstable. I should kill him now_ he thought as he walked towards the red headed warrior, his remaining sword in hand.

However, he never got the chance. A sword went through his chest and was swung upwards, killing the demon. The sword belonged to LK, who after putting away his sword, ran along with his companions towards their two unconscious friends.

RS didn't run directly to their sides though, looking at the destruction left behind by the battle.

The ground was cracked and broken all over the place, buildings had been cut in two, and hundreds of demons lay dead on the floor.

Blade Master, a man in his twenties with short black hair, looked at RS and said "Something wrong?"

RS looked toward IS, feeling the same sensation he got when he last fought Ran.

"Very." he replied to BM.

* * *

When IS opened his eyes, he saw he was surrounded by complete darkness. He looked around for a second, trying to find his friends.

"Nemesis! Rune! Chaser!" he yelled to no avail.

Just when he was about to continue calling names, he heard a very familiar laugh.

"It's pointless…just give up already!" the voice said as IS suddenly felt the voice's bloodthirst behind him.

He turned around not to see the person behind the voice, but the gruesome scene from the day before.

"YOU CAN'T PROTECT ANYTHING BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO WEAK!" the voice echoed once again.

* * *

Then suddenly, he woke up once more, his eyes wide and breathing heavy as he just awoke from his nightmare. After he calmed himself down, he noticed he was in the clinic of the El Scouts' home, and that in the bed that was next to his, CN was sleeping. He looked out the window next to him to see the sun making its descent. It must have been at least a day.

Then he looked back towards the Nasod Queen. The sight of her in a peaceful state calmed him down a bit, until his mind came back to the events of the day before.

He had nearly lost himself yesterday to the darkness he said he would conquer when he became an Infinity Sword. He was lucky he managed to get himself out of it, but it didn't make him feel any better about it.

"DiE, for the last time, the cookies are for them, not you" a female voice came from the hall.

"But they're chocolate…and I need something to snack on when I work" a male voice replied.

"Add, I'm surprised you can fit into that suit with how much chocolate you eat." A second male voice replied.

"Add, if you're that hungry, I can make you some later." another female voice said.

As the door opened, he saw the voice had come from EM, DiE, RS, and DW, the latter rushing to IS saying "You're awake!", though he had expected this, after all, he had at one time dated her, and despite it not working out, they became good friends.

"You two put us for quite a scare there IS" EM said, putting the tray of cookies on the bedside table, and shortly afterwards swatting DiE's hand away from the cookies.

"I guess I did" IS replied as he scratched the back of his head a little.

"Yeah you did, can you tell us what happened?" RS said, his tone filled with a little bit of worry.

"Well…" IS began to speak, but was unable to continue as his began to clutch his fists a little. Just thinking about the scene caused his blood to boil a little, and the dark voice to be clearer in his head.

"Alright, well you can tell us when you're ready. Just get some rest for now" RS said, displaying his usual grin as he began to walk out.

"Well IS, I hope you two get better soon!" EM said as she went out of the room with his brother.

"Same here!" DW said as she made her way to the door.

"Well, it would be a pain in the butt if you died, so don't do anything stupid" DiE said as he left the room, yet stealing one of the cookies as he left.

IS smiled for a moment, but frowned as he remembered the events of the day before. He then shook his head and laid down, hoping for rest to come to him as he looked at the sunset.

* * *

Despite that though, he was unable to get a wink of sleep for the next two hours. So many things flowed through his mind, making it hard for him to find any sleep at all.

But one moment kept coming back to him.

Just earlier when he had woken up and everyone checked on him.

RS didn't look him in the eye, and he knew that when RS did that, he was hiding something.

 _He knows_ IS thought.

 _He knows I'm starting to lose control_.

He then looked at CN, remembering the monster he became the night before, and it was her voice that brought him back from the brink of losing his soul. But he was worried.

 _What if I….I end up killing he-_ he thought, but then shook his head, struggling to erase the very idea of it from his mind, yet it still kept coming back.

 _What if I end up killing her and everyone else? Am I right?_ the dark voice in rang through IS's head, a sinister laughter behind it.

His words tormented IS, the demon's words so clear as if though he was standing right behind IS.

After breathing heavily for a few moments, he heard CN's voice once again, "Infi…" He looked once again towards CN, who was still sleeping peacefully, and every now and then calling his name.

After looking down for a moment while biting his lip, he looked back towards the window, the cool crisp air clearing his mind, he then looked over towards the hall, seeing the closet where they kept all their cloaks. And an idea finally came to his mind. A way to make it so he wouldn't end up hurting his friends.

He got himself out of the bed, and walked over to the closet across the hall.

He grabbed his cloak, and walked back into the room, but continued towards the open window.

He looked at CN's face once more as he said:

"I can't travel with you all anymore…"

* * *

As the sun began to shine through the shades, RS turned over, the annoyance from the light washing over his face, which slowly began to disappear as he was once again welcomed by the cool darkness as he faced away from the window.

But it didn't last long as LK suddenly walked into the room and said "Rune, wake up."

"5 more minutes…" RS replied while still half asleep.

"We don't have 5 minutes." LK retorted to his reply. This was something that got RS's gears going. LK normally left for five minutes, only to bring GrM in to wake RS up.

"Okay okay, what's going on?" he said as he sat up in his bed. There was a small sign of bags under his eyes. Despite how he seemed to everyone yesterday, he was clearly worried, and the thoughts had managed to make it hard to sleep the night before.

"Infi is missing" LK said.

Just those three words were enough to make RS's eyes widen and snap him awake.

* * *

"So, anyone got any ideas?" RF said, just as distressed as everyone else in the group.

They already knew that IS had left on his own, considering the fact his cloak was missing.

"Maybe some demons threatened him" YR said as a suggestion.

"No, he would have wiped the floor with them if they did that" BM said.

"Oh, right…." YR replied as she looked back down towards the table.

After a few moments of silence, RS spoke "Maybe…Maybe the dark El in him is starting to have side effects."

This caught everyone's attention. Even the Adds looked towards RS.

"You sure?" DW said, slightly worried. She had been trying to help IS keep his darkness in check ever since he became an Infinity Sword.

"He has a point" CrA said as she sat up on the couch she was laying on moments ago. "He might have given in to it if he thought CN was going to die."

"Maybe, but why would he leave?" SD asked sadly.

The next to speak up was none other than IP "To protect us…"

Everyone fell dead silent. They all knew IP was right.

"That idiot!" RS said as he clenched his fist for a moment.

After a few moments, one of them spoke up.

"We should go find him, right?"

Everyone looked over to see it was none other than DiE who spoke, much to everyone's surprise.

He raised his brow as he said "It's not like a care about that idiot…it's just boring without him around…" he then looked away while blushing slightly, and said "and DW cares for him…"

This brightened all of their spirits a little. If of all people, DiE was going to be the first to suggest they find the person he hated the most out of the group, then they really needed some help.

"Okay then, any ideas how to find him?" RS said, his grin partially returned.

"I probably could find him." CrA said, for once getting herself off the couch during daytime. "After all, we both use dark el a bit, so I should be able to."

"Alright then, let's get going! We're hot on his trail now!" BH said, and despite the fact she made another fire pun, everyone couldn't help but smile.

* * *

After a few hours of taking the Cobo service to go to different towns, they ended up at of all places, near the Temple of Frozen Water.

And not even BH's constant fire puns could keep them from shivering a little.

"Of all places, he chose to go here?" LP said before he sneezed.

"Well, not many people go here anyhow" RS said, who seemed almost completely fine due to his magic affinity with fire.

"Will you two quit it?" MM said, who was smart enough to bring his winter jacket.

Meanwhile, towards the front of the group, BM asked CrA "Are we close?"

"Yeah, I can feel his presence from here…" she replied as she looked ahead.

As they made their way up the next hill covered in snow, they could see a cloaked figure in the distance. And it was wearing IS's cloak.

"IS!" RS yelled towards the figure. As soon as he spoke, the figure noticed him and began to run in the opposite direction.

"IS!" he and the others yelled again. Soon enough though, RS had begun running towards the figure with his wind rune, leaving the rest of the group behind.

Soon enough though, he had caught up with the figure, who stopped.

"Infi…" RS said as he walked towards his brother.

IS looked at him for a moment, but then looked away.

"I can't travel with you guys anymore."

"But Infi!"

"I said I can't!" he continued while looking away. "Don't you understand I'm going to become some monster?"

"Infi, we can find a way to-" RS tried to continue.

But he was cut off as IS retorted "But what if I….what if I end up killing everyone?" He then turned around, tears running down from his eyes as he yelled "WHAT THEN!?"

"Infi…we're family aren't we?…we can handle it together." RS said with a warm smile.

IS looked at his brother for a moment, but then suddenly the ground began to tilt, causing IS to slip and fall on onto the floor.

When IS stomped the ground earlier, it had caused the ice to crack.

And now it was beginning to collapse beneath them.

"IS!" RS suddenly yelled as he went to grab his brother as the floor began to fall under them.

He managed to grab him, but before he could get the chance to turn around, he slipped.

"RUNE! INFI!" some of the other members of the team yelled as they became mere figures looking at the two from above.

And so, they fell into a ravine, hidden long ago by the ice and time.

* * *

When IS opened his eyes, he was once again in surrounded by darkness.

"Just give up already…you know it's inevitable" said the dark voice once more, this time his voice clear and vivid to the point IS felt like the source of it was right behind him.

As he turned around though, he wasn't greeted by the scene from yesterday, but a much different one at that.

He found himself inside of the library he met Conwell long ago in. It was still the same as before; crammed full of books dimly lit by the candles.

As he looked around, he saw a familiar cloaked figure standing in front of the fireplace just as before.

As IS walked towards him, the figure began to speak.

"I warned you before of what might happen, Elsword Infinite Sieghart" he spoke, his voice strangely quiet.

"I know…but I can-" IS tried to reply, but he was cut off.

"Because you thought you could overcome your hatred?" the figure continued, his voice beginning to distort.

"Wait….who are you?" IS asked.

The figure stayed silent.

"What have you done with Conwell!? Answer me!" he yelled as he drew one of his blades.

Suddenly, the figure made a move as if to grab a weapon. But IS didn't give it a chance as he drove it through.

But when the hood fell, it revealed not Conwell or some stranger.

It was CN.

As IS screamed, the dark voice laughed his maniacal laughter.

* * *

IS sat up breathing quick and heavily, nearly screaming as he woke up. But then his body suddenly stung as he got up. As he looked down, he noticed his chest was covered in multiple bandages, and that he was in some sort of sleeping bag.

"You ok?" a voice to his right said. IS looked over to see RS, also covered in bandages, and a small campfire between them.

"I see you're awake." Another voice said. IS found the source of the voice was a man wearing a sort of hooded cloak. And despite the fact his face was mostly covered by the hood, IS could see the man's smile, as there was a soft green glow that came from under the hood.

"What happened?" he said as he looked up, taking in his surroundings. They were at the bottom of some sort of gorge, the sides of it covered by ice that seemed to be almost completely non-transparent. He then remembered what happened.

They fell through some sort of hole that they had accidentally broke open.

 _But how did we survive?_ IS questioned in his thoughts.

"It was quite a fall. If this guy wasn't nearby, we would both probably be dead" RS said.

IS looked toward the hooded man and gave him a closer look. From what IS could guess, he guessed the man was not much older than them actually, probably in his late teens or early 20s. He was mostly covered in a cloak.

But what stood out most to IS was that on one of his hands, he wore a black gauntlet, clearly some type of metal IS had never seen in his travels with the El Scouts.

Despite the fact what IS could see of his face looked friendly, he couldn't help but ask "Who are you exactly?"

"A traveler of sorts" the man replied, almost as if though he had said that line a million times before.

Whoever he was, IS could tell he wouldn't get anything else if he pried in more.

But IS was cut from his thoughts as the man continued "While I was walking around here, I saw you two covered in snow. Both of you were bleeding and with a few crushed bones, so I decided to set up camp here so I could fix you two up.

IS looked down at the bandages again. They all covered his injuries, and that he had a cast on his left arm.

"You're lucky neither of you landed on your heads, otherwise you'd be dead."

"Yeah…" IS replied, astonished that despite the fact he was unconscious, the man had bandaged and set his cast without IS even noticing.

"Anyhow…I heard you're in quite the predicament." The man said, catching IS's attention quickly.

Before IS got the chance to say anything, the man continued.

"You've messed with a lot of powers based off of demons, and now your own inner demon is trying to take over, right?"

IS didn't know what to say. IS could only assume that RS told him about it, but the fact he was able to say it without any hesitation caught IS off guard.

"Think of it like this" the man spoke. "Each soul has Good and Evil in it" he continued as IS listened.

"And in most cases, one side dominates the other, like say you're a good kid that likes to get into mischief, or a villain who hates the world because of the death of a loved one" he continued.

 _That first one sounds kinda familiar_ IS thought as he looked over towards his brother for a second.

"However, there are ways to shift this balance, such as using powers such as yours."

It was here IS knew the man clearly understood the situation. Because he knew that over time, as he became more and more of a powerful Infinity Sword, he tended to have his blood boil into a bloodrage more and more easily.

"So…is there a way to stop it?" IS asked, feeling the man may have an answer.

"There is one way…you have to confront your evil directly" he answered.

IS was slightly confused. "What do you mean directly?" he asked.

"You have to enter the world of your soul, and make him submit or defeat him." the man continued, answering IS's question.

IS was about to ask him about what was the world the man was talking about, but then he remembered his dream.

 _The library_ he thought, remembering how his evil side's voice was so much clearer when he was in there in his dream than back when he left the El Scout's house.

It was RS though who asked the next question.

"And if he fails?"

The man looked down and paused for a moment. He then raised his head and said.

"The demon will completely take over, and the Good side of your soul will disappear forever."

The shock hit the two brothers pretty quick. It was a classic case of life or death. Except that failing could mean they all might die.

"Isn't there some other way? Like purification?" RS said, trying to find another solution.

"No, his soul is too unstable for a purification technique to work. If it was a few months back, I'd be able to, bu-" the man replied, but was cut off as IS said:

"I'll do it"

"But IS…" RS said, looking at his brother.

"If there's any way to fight the fate I've almost resigned to, I'll take it" IS said, his tone filled with resolve.

The man stood up as he spoke "Well, with that resolve, you might manage to pull it off, but I suggest you let your wounds heal up first."

The two suddenly looked at him and RS said "You're leaving?"

He looked back towards the two, a smile on his face as he replied "Well, my job is done here. I've given you all the advice I can give, and it seems your friends are almost here."

Suddenly, as if on cue, the voices of their friends, yelling "Rune! Infi!" as if searching for the two could be heard from not too far away.

"Well anyhow tha-" RS said as he turned back around, only to see the man was no longer there, the only signs he had been were the fire, sleeping bags, their bandages, and the footprints of a pair of sneakers.

However, as their friends came around the corner, other than his need to fight the darkness within him directly, one thing was on his mind.

When the man had gotten up, he saw a little more of the face beneath the hood.

The man had glowing green irises. Just like IS had seen once before in RS's eyes.

But the thought slipped from his mind as he was smothered by his friends as they went to try and embrace him, causing some stinging from his injuries.

But he ignored the pain. Their warmth was just what he needed to remember.

 _They are my family. So I'll fight for them._ He thought. And he swore he could hear a small 'tch' from the dark voice.

* * *

IS looked out the window as he sat on his bed.

His injuries had recovered completely since last night (much to the team's surprise), and for the last 10 or so minutes, he was in a tense, yet calm state of mind.

 _Today is the day_ he thought as he looked towards CN, who looked like she might wake up any second. He was doing this for her sake, as well as everyone else's

He heard the door open as RS invited himself in.

"Haven't you heard of knocking the door first?" IS said.

"Well, let's just say manners don't apply to siblings" RS replied with a grin.

"I just came to say good luck, you'll need it" RS continued.

"Yeah…" IS replied, knowing that the fact that failure could mean everyone could die.

Soon enough, IS walked out of the room and made his way over to the training room, which MM added in at one point after one day of training that led to him being arrowed to near death after destroying a few walls.

The room was almost empty, save for his two brothers, his sisters, DW, BM and RF, DC, and DiE.

"Where'd everyone else go?" IS asked the group.

"They're helping clean up the town, the guards were a little shorthanded" BM replied.

"Well, a lot of the men got injured during the battle, so it can't be helped" GrM replied as she let out a sigh.

"But what I'm surprised about is DiE! You actually care about me?" IS said somewhat mockingly.

"Shut up! I'm here cuz I didn't want to work, and GA said it was that or keep an eye on you Eldork!" he retorted.

"Suuuure" IS replied sarcastically.

"Just start already!" he yelled while looking the other way.

After getting one last bit of laughter out, IS sat down in the middle of the room.

 _It's for their sakes. For hers'_ he thought as he slowed his breathing.

He then began to focus on a mental image the library, while clearing away everything else.

 _It ends today_ he thought as he cleared his mind.

Soon enough, everything became silent.

He then heard the soft sound of flames.

He opened his eyes to see himself in the library once more.

* * *

IS stood up, looking around the library he had visited in his dreams not long ago.

Only this time, books were scattered over the floor in some spots, and some of the bookshelves had been smashed or cut to pieces.

"What happened?" he said, slightly confused. He walked around a bit, finding only more books scattered all over the place.

"Where's Conwell? And more importantly, where's this Evil me?…or whatever I should call it" he said out loud. He then began to walk over towards one of the piles of books.

"Such a mess" he said as he was about to pick up a book.

"YOU CALL?" the dark voice spoke, only this time, his voice was almost just like IS's, except that there was a strange echo in his voice. IS started to look back as his counterpart yelled "SWORD FALL!"

"Where?" IS said as he heard the Conwell blades appear. The sound came from…

 _ABOVE!_ He thought as he then jumped backwards.

"Too close!" he said as the blades went past him. But then, he saw that the blades literally went up to the hilt deep into the ground before they exploded.

"You gotta be kidding!" he said, surprised at the destructive power.

"Well well well" the voice said once more. "I'm surprised you made it, Elsword."

IS looked around to see the source of the voice, and said "So you're-"

The figure, his dark side, looked exactly like him, the only difference being his yellow eyes and demeanor.

"Your Evil side? Yes, I am." Dark IS said, almost pleased to say the words. As he continued, he couldn't help but smile as he said "But it makes things so much easier since you came here."

"Where's Conwell!?" IS yelled, remembering his last nightmare.

"You mean the old man we killed?" Dark IS replied.

 _Where's he going with this?_ IS thought.

"Or the sword in your hand? Or the one in mine!? Or maybe…" he said as he licked the edge of his blade. The edge of it was wet with blood.

And it wasn't IS's blood.

"You're talking about me?" he said with a grin.

"You bastard!" IS yelled as he ran up to his dark half as the demon smiled with insanity.

The two began to clash blades, yet Dark IS only parried away IS's attacks. This caused IS to snap slightly.

 _Is he really taking me this lightly? Well, take this!_ He thought as he summoned his own Sword Fall.

But right as the blades began to appear, a group of Conwell blades came out of nowhere, taking out the attack instantly.

IS then made one more move. A kill slash meant to cut straight through his phantom.

However, Dark IS just laughed as he brought out a Conwell blade instantly from his hand.

It was as if though he had complete control of the blade. Of IS's friend.

"What did you do to Conwell!?" IS yelled, demanding an answer.

"You just don't get it, do you?" Dark IS said as he took one hand off his sword, which now clutched the end of IS's blade.

"Fool!" He said as he clutched IS's blade tightly, causing the blade to break.

"NO! CONWELL!" IS yelled in a surprise, despaired as his blade began to crumble away.

Suddenly, he felt something pierce him through his chest.

It was a Conwell blade, just like his, only the yellow symbol had turned red.

"Dah!" he yelled as he coughed up blood, crimson staining the floor.

"Heh, you're so naïve Elsword" Dark IS continued.

* * *

The group sat in silence in the training room, looking at IS from the nearby table.

"He'll make it, right?" DC asked the group, looking at his unconscious comrade.

"I know he will! He's fought against it for this long!" DW answered "Have you doubted him before?"

"N-no" DC replied with a stutter.

"Then just believe in him, oka-" she continued, but was cut off as a sudden feeling of bloodlust filled the air.

The team looked around to see the darkness beginning to take hold of IS once again, the black mask appearing on his face.

"C'mon Infi…" RS said, gritting his teeth, as the team looked in shock at the event. "You can win this…"

* * *

IS tried to speak but couldn't. The sword had pierced through his lung, making it hard to breathe.

"When you took in the darkness, I became part of your power" Dark IS explained. "And over time, I slowly became the center of your power, and absorbed the power that old fart had"

IS had a hard time hearing him though. He was beginning to feel cold. He could barely keep his eyes open. He was about to die.

"And then, the more you relied on me, the more powerful I became" his dark half continued, his face growing into a grin as IS closed his eyes.

But then, a small voice popped into IS head.

"In…fi"

Dark IS hadn't heard it as he finished his explanation.

"To put simply, I have surpassed you, you weak, naive fool!" he said as he turned away.

This time, IS could see the face that belonged to the voice. It was CN.

"Infi. I love you."

 _CN!_ He thought, the voice snapping him back from the edge of death.

Dark IS was walking away, laughing as if he won the fight.

IS grabbed the hilt of the blade that had been driven in his chest.

 **SLIT!**

Dark IS suddenly stopped in his tracks as the sound rang through the room.

As IS brought the blade to his side, energy filled the blade, causing the symbol that was once red to become yellow.

 _For her sake!_ He yelled in his mind as his sword began to emit an orange aura.

"SWORD…" he yelled as three more Conwell blades appeared behind him, also covered in an orange aura.

Dark IS turned around as he saw the blades coming towards him.

"SHIT!" he yelled, knowing he didn't have the time to dodge, block, or even parry the attack.

He was wide open.

"BLASTING!"

* * *

"This is bad, if this keeps up…" CrA said, preparing her own sword for the worst.

IS had almost been completely covered by the darkness within him.

"He can make it." A voice said from the hall.

The team looked towards the door to see CN, who was leaning on the doorway.

"CN! You should still be in bed!" LK said as he walked towards her.

"I'm fine" she said, lightly tapping LK on the face.

"I know he can make it" she continued. "Because he-"

Her next words were cut off as the dark mask and skin suddenly shattered off of IS, crumbling away in the air.

While everyone was still in shock, CN simply smiled.

"See?"

* * *

"Heheheh…seems I was the naïve one...I forgot how stubborn you are" Dark IS said.

He was lying on the bookshelf, the four blades pierced into his body, which had begun to crumble away.

"I don't care if I'm naïve, I'll protect my friends." IS stated as he looked down on his foe.

"That there! That's exactly why you're weak!" Dark IS yelled in reply.

"I chose this path to protect them, so if being stronger means abandoning them, I won't." IS said as he began to walk away.

"That's why you're so weak! That's why next time…" Dark IS yelled as he continued to crumble away into the wind, half of his face already gone.

"I'll make sure to crush your skull!" he said as he laughed maniacally, his body now completely gone, leaving behind a fading laughter and the Conwell blades where he once was.

IS closed his eyes and simply said

"No."

He then walked away, knowing there was nothing more to say to what was now just a phantom.

* * *

After the library faded away, IS opened his eyes.

He saw his friends surrounding him, all somewhat with a curious look on their faces.

"Is it really?...Infi?" RF said, breaking the silence.

IS smiled and quickly flicked DiE in the nose, knocking him off his feet (if you don't know, his physical defense is very low).

"WHAT THE HELL ELBRAT!?" DiE yelled.

RS laughed as he said "Yep, it's him."

Everyone all gathered around giving IS a hug, except for DiE, who looked away as IS got up

IS was smiling and laughing along with his friends. He felt like a burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Even CN couldn't help but smile.

* * *

"So…he ever coming back?" RS asked as he looked towards his brother.

Night had fallen onto the city, the moon above a bright white, casting its light onto the city and the balcony the two were standing on.

Inside, every else was asleep. They had been partying for hours since IS came back to them and bet his dark side.

Now, everyone was asleep from exhaustion, since most of them had been working almost nonstop since the attack on Velder. Meanwhile, in BH's case, she was asleep due to the liquor, as she continued to mummer in her sleep some 'dirty talk', thinking she was with LP.

IS smiled as he looked at the night sky as he replied "Nah, I beat him pretty hard, but if he ever does come back…"

He then summoned a blade almost instantly into his hand "I'll beat him again. That's a promise" he said with a grin.

"Heh, guess he won't stand a chance next time" RS said with his own grin. However, that grin suddenly faded.

"What's the matter?" IS said, looking confused.

"When we found you unconscious before…when I looked at you, it sorta felt like when I fought with Ran, when I thought his eye color changed for a second."

IS looked at him for a moment "What are you saying Rune?" he asked, a serious expression appearing on his face.

What the two didn't know is that another of the members was eavesdropping on them, laying on the floor, with one eye open.

A bright blue eye.

"There might be more to Ran than we first thought."

* * *

 **WVH: And that's the first installment of the Elsword RSFB Stories! I hope you all enjoyed it!**

 **RS: This originally took a year to launch cuz most WVH's admins on the FB page were too lazy to draw the artworks that needed to be drawn**

 **WVH: Well, at least that is finally over with. I also heard our CEm admin wants to make a full graphic novel version of it**

 **RS: ...hopefully that goes well XD**

 **WVH: Anyhow, come back next time! Whenever we get the next part done...and don't forget to R &R**

 **HoodedMan: *walks in WVH's room* Where the heck did I end up now?**

 **RS: ...Wolf...how is he in your dimensi-*cut off***


	2. 2 DC-Lone Wolf

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Elsword, its characters, and skills! They belong to KOG, KillerCombo, and Nexon. The only things I own are the story and the OCs that are introduced into the plot. So just enjoy the show!**

 **The time has finally come…it's time for the second installment of the RSFB Stories! So get ready for some action and suspense!...with a side of romance and comedy XD**

* * *

 **Elsword: RSFB Stories: DC: Lone Wolf**

 _City of Velder, 4 days after IS Vs. His Inner Demon, 3pm_

The sun shone throughout the fair city, though half of it had a much more rustic coloration. It was only a few days ago when an army of demons attacked the city for a second time. However, reconstruction had finally begun, the broken city beginning to return to its normal state.

And in the streets filled on the sides with wood framing, the El Scouts, the now two-time saviors of Velder, could be seen helping with the reconstr-

"WATCH WHERE YOU SWING THAT THING YOU ALBINO!"

…as I was saying…they could be seen helping wi-

"WELL HOW ABOUT YOU LEARN TO DUCK YOU REDHEAD IDIOT!"

NOT THIS CRAP AGA-

"OH YEAH? SAYS THE GUY WHO CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT HIS TOYS!"

…screw it…they started without me again…

* * *

Once again, Rune and MasterMind were fighting, though unlike last time, this time it started over Add hitting the redhead in the back of the head with a wood board. They were helping with the reconstruction of one of the taverns, but of course, now they were distracted.

"SAYS THE IDIOT WHO SPAMS RUNES!" Mastermind yelled at the redhead, clearly mad at Rune's last remark.

"Oooohoohh, you're on!" Rune said, preparing his hand to draw a rune as Mastermind bought his dynamos into an attack position.

But both of them were cut off when arrows whistled past both of their heads.

Rena Grand Archer looked at the two of them, her smile hiding her annoyance as she said "Quit it and get back to work. NOW."

The two responded immediately, putting away their respective weapons and picking up the wood boards they were carrying only a few seconds ago, though Add picked his up with his dynamos, and both of them replied "Yes ma'am!" before quickly running to where Blade Master and the others were helping the construction workers put them onto the framing.

"Sigh, I swear those two will never learn" Rune's brother, Lord Knight, complained. Ever since the Adds joined the group, Rune and MasterMind always tended to fight each other, only to be stopped and either intimidated into stopping or being brutally beaten by Grand Archer.

"Well, at least this time they didn't destroy anything" The spiky blonde next to Lord said. Tactical Trooper had been hammering in a nail for one of the boards of the frame, taking a break to watch Rune and MasterMind get into yet another fight.

A girl with purple hair next to them, holding up the toolbox Tactical Trooper was using for his work, butted into the conversation as she said "Well, at least they only destroyed one wall the time they caused damage…"

Trooper caught onto what she was saying right away, and replied "Void! It wasn't my fault! Rena barged in when I was working on one of my grenades!"

A girl with ebony hair that included a strand of white that stood on the other side of Lord then asked "Wait, what happened exactly?" with a tone of confusion.

Lord grabbed the next wood board to put up as he answered "Oh, Trooper blew up the house we were staying in once."

Ara looked somewhat surprised as she said "Really? So I'm not the only clumsy one?"

Trooper replied "Don't say it like that Miss Ara!", he was embarrassed about the spoken event. Meanwhile Lord couldn't help but laugh a little.

To the side, Void pouted for a moment before putting her hand on Trooper's shoulder to comfort him out of his moment of depression.

To the other side of the work site, the youngest Elsword, Infinity Sword, and the black armored nasod queen Eve Code Nemesis watched the scene and laughed a little.

"They're the same as ever." Infinity spoke with a smile on his face.

Nemesis smiled as well as she said "Well, that's who they are."

Though she was also looking closely at Infi, who had a few days ago fought to the death with his inner demon inside his soul. She was happy to see him back to his old self again.

While it seemed the whole team was working on rebuilding the destroyed parts of town, one of the members wasn't there. Instead, he was sitting in his room back in the house they had made their base. The window shades were shut, the room completely dark, save for a few strands of light.

Trooper's older brother, the middle brother of the Chungs, Deadly Chaser, was sitting on his bed, his mind lost in thought.

" _There may be more to Ran than we first thought."_

Chaser grimaced in annoyance. _But Ran destroyed my home. He's evil, isn't he?_ he thought.

Ever since Ara joined the team, he began to feel more and more doubt about the goal he set for himself long ago.

Ever since he and his brothers escaped the fall of Hamel, he had sworn and trained to defeat the man who had turned his father into the fallen colossus and destroyed the Hamel he and his brother grew up in.

But after learning of how he was supposedly Ara's brother who had turned into a demon, he started to wonder whether or not the path he made for himself was the right one.

 _But then, what was all of the pain, all of the training I endured then?_ He thought.

He then shook his head.

 _I need to stop hesitating! If I keep doing it, I won't be able to avenge them! All the people that demon has wronged!_

He then looked outside, watching his friends and their hijinks.

He then came to his answer. The way he could finally achieve his goal.

"I guess…there's only one way to do this. To beat ran before I lose my edge…" he said out loud to himself.

"I have to fight him…alone." He spoke as he clutched his fist.

* * *

 _Same day, Wastelands near Lanox, 11:00 pm_

In the middle of the lava covered wastelands that now surrounded parts of Lanox stood a fort. It was old, made long ago by soldiers who protected the temple of fire.

However, now it was a fort controlled by the demon armies. Their plan to unseal the great demon king had succeeded, but according to the orders from the top officials, they could not let their guard down just yet.

In the front of the fort, just outside of the gate, two guards were doing just that, playing with a deck of cards placed so that the guards on the ramparts above couldn't see them.

"So, did you hear about that botched attack on Velder?" one of the demons said as he drew a card from the deck.

The other demon replied "Yeah, heard that they ended up fighting those El Scout guys" as he looked through the cards in his hand, which happened to be junk.

"Yeah, word is those guys are the only reason we haven't conquered this world yet." the first demon explained. He then placed some chips on the table next to a smaller stack as he exclaimed "Raise to 30"

The other demon sighed and put his cards face down on the table "I fold. I hate how you just have that luck of yours" he grumbled, annoyed at losing yet another hand to his coworker.

"Well, wish something interesting would happen soon. It's been boring the past few weeks." The first demon said as he raked in the chips to his side of the table.

The other one shrugged as he replied "You and me both" in agreement.

But then, the two noticed a noise coming from the path away from the fort.

But it was too late as the last thing they saw was a barrage of missiles less than a meter away from their faces.

The resulting explosion didn't only kill the two guards, but busted a hole right through the gate, leaving the entrance to the fort wide open, save for the smoke caused by the explosion.

A figure in white burst through the said smoke, carrying two pistols in hand, as well as a cannon on his back.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! IT'S THE EL SCOUTS!" one of the demons cried out, his warning complete moments before a magic bullet went through its head.

Chaser made his way through the courtyard, dashing towards the center of the fort as he shot to both sides, aiming to kill any of the demons on the ramparts, their bodies and weapons falling off the other side from the impact of the magic bullets as they went through the demons' skulls.

However, his path was soon cut off as a large demon and other demons blocked his path, their spears, blades, and bows already trained on him.

"STEP ASIDE!" Chaser yelled as he quickly pulled out his cannon and fired a railgun shot followed by two shots of Scare Chase Missiles.

The cannonballs knocked the group away, and the two scare chases finished them off, one taking out the large demon and the other creating an explosion large enough to take out the rest.

* * *

Meanwhile inside, the building shook, causing a demon with human like features and dark skin, a subordinate of the Demon General Scar, to awaken from his slumber.

The demon commander then walked to the door and faced the guard outside it.

"What's the situation?" the commander asked.

"We're under attack sir. Our forces are being taken out quickly as we speak." The guard replied.

"How many are attacking?" the commander asked, slightly annoyed that any force would dare to attack this fortification.

"Just one sir." The guard said with some disappointment.

"WHAT!?" the commander replied, now furious.

* * *

Chaser had already made it through a good portion of the enemy forces, leaving a trail of their bodies behind him. Without his friends to back him up or be careful of accidentally causing friendly fire, Chaser knew he could not hold back, that he had to kill every single demon that came in his way. Otherwise he would end up dead himself.

Every demon that came across his path he either shot them in the head with his guns, blew them away with his cannon, or tossed them aside with a quick swing with the cannon.

Now he had reached the center of the fort and then stopped, noticing that he had been surrounded. The remaining demons that occupied the fort had completely surrounded him.

Then, on a balcony of one of the buildings in front of him, a human-like demon with black skin, dressed in what Chaser believed was a commander uniform for their armies, spoke "You're surrounded, I suggest you surrender, human filth."

But then DC smiled. In truth, this was just what he wanted.

He then slammed his cannon to the ground, firing all the remaining rounds of ammo he had inside of it into the air.

"OUTRAGE…" he began to yell. The commander knew what was coming next and quickly grabbed one of the soldiers to his side and used it as a shield.

"STRIKE!" Chaser yelled as he started gunning down the missiles, causing them to detonate all over the surrounding army.

As the explosions ceased and the smoke began to clear away, all that remained of the center of the fort and the demon army was rubble splattered with blood stains, or what remained of the demons that stood there moments ago.

Save for one. The commander got up off his knees. He looked almost completely unscathed save for his left arm, which was now soaked in blood and the hand that connected to it was now missing a few fingers.

"Don't think you'll escape here alive, boy." He said as he used his still good right hand to draw out the saber that hung from his belt.

"Sorry, but I can't waste my time on you for long. I just need you to answer some questions." the Chung replied, drawing out his two guns.

The demon then ran towards him, his blade aimed for the blonde's chest. But the boy quickly dodged the attack with a roll and shot a bullet from his left gun towards the demon's arm.

The demon managed to move his arm in time to avoid having a hole put through his arm, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid the shot from grazing his skin, causing him to flinch from the pain.

Chung took advantage of that, quickly using his other gun to shot at the demon commander's leg.

The bullet ripped into the demon's tendon, causing him to not only groan from the pain, but throwing him off balance. Just long enough for Chung to hit the demon in the face with his cannon and pin the officer down.

Soon enough, Chung had the end of his cannon aimed right at the demon's head, ready to shoot him point blank.

"So, how about you answer my question?" Chung spoke, his gaze holding a bit of bloodlust.

The demon tried to struggle but after a moment, realized that it was pointless. The boy had completely pinned him down and if the commander pulled anything, he'd be shot by the cannon from point blank range.

"Just what do you want exactly?" he spoke, slightly nervous.

Chaser then asked the demon "Where is Ran?"

The commander raised his eyebrow in surprise. He had expected the boy to ask about their General Scar, but the fact it was just the demon Earl made him feel a little bit more, talkative.

"The demon Earl? Last I heard, after his failure in Hamel, he got moved to some mountain range." He explained.

Chaser immediately asked "What mountain range?", his tone cold as ice.

"Not sure, but it's said he was put in charge of keeping an eye on the Moon El shard" the demon answered, sweat starting to appear on his face.

 _Moon El? I guess that must be at Fahrmann then._ Chaser thought.

"So, you're going to let me go, right?" the demon asked the assassin.

The assassin contemplated for a moment and then said "Well, you did give me the location of my sworn enemy, so at the very least, you can live."

"Wait wha-" the demon started to say, before Chung knocked the demon out by hitting him in the face with his cannon.

The Chaser then got himself up and brushed the dirt off his white armor. He then looked towards the North and thought:

 _I'm coming for you…Ran!_

* * *

 _El Scouts' House, City of Velder, 11:00 pm_

Rena W. Eruyell, AKA Wind Sneaker, was walking around the hallways of their home, with a look of concern and confusion on her face.

 _Why didn't Chung show up for dinner or help out?_ She asked herself as she walked towards the Chungs' quarters.

She looked at the room of the Deadly Chaser. For a time, the two of them went out together, so if anyone, she had a better idea of his character, even if they broke up a little while back.

"What's up Ms. Windy?" a voice from behind her spoke. She turned around to see the oldest of the Chung brothers, Iron Paladin, looking at her slightly confused. He was dressed in his pajamas, but his eyes clearly spoke of his lack of sleep.

"Just wondering if Chaser is okay. And seems you aren't getting enough sleep" the Wind Sneaker replied.

Paladin let out a sigh as he responded "Well, let's just say Trooper is 'experimenting' again…" before letting out a yawn.

Rena W. let out a sigh as she looked towards the room that seemed to have much more security.

"I've told him again and again not to toy with his explosives in the house…Archer is not going to be happy." She complained. After all, even she couldn't help but be slightly afraid of her older sister when she got angry.

"Yeah, so you said you're worried about Chaser?" the Paladin asked, trying to move away from the topic of Grand Archer's anger issues.

Wind Sneaker replied "Yeah, he didn't help with the reconstruction or join us for dinner."

Paladin contemplated for a few moments and then said "Well, he has been acting a little strange the past few days."

The Rena then replied "I know right? Something must be eating at him!"

Paladin then walked over to the assassin's door and said "Yeah, guess we should check on my little brother."

He then knocked on the door and said "Chaser. You awake? Chaser?"

He then sighed and pushed on the door. However, both of them were surprised that the door opened.

They then saw two things. The bed was empty, and the window was wide open, the mildly cold air brushing against their faces.

"W-where's Chaser?" Wind Sneaker stuttered, trying to understand the situation.

Paladin stepped into the room and looked around. He then saw a note laid on the bed chaser should have been lying on.

He then skimmed the note for a moment and realized just what he was up to.

"That idiot!" he said before rushing out of the room.

"What's in the note?" Sneaker asked the guardian.

He then faced her and answered "Chaser said he's leaving the El Scouts."

* * *

 _Ten minutes later in the Living Room_

"So, let me get this straight. Chaser left a note in his room saying he's leaving the team, and just leaves without saying a goodbye?" Rune asked Wind Sneaker.

"Yes, unfortunately…" Wind Sneaker answered, somewhat depressed.

"Sheesh, first Infi messes with his dark side too much and now this? You guys are idiots." Add Diabolic Esper replied with a tone of annoyance.

"Calm down, there's probably a good reason why he left." Veteran Commander spoke, trying to keep Esper in check.

"But why would he leave?" Sakra Devanam asked the group. For a few moments everyone looked down, trying to understand what was going on.

Save for the other two Chungs, who looked at each other for a few moments as if trying to decide to tell the rest something.

 _Should we tell them the letter has a secret message in it?_ Paladin contemplated in his mind.

 _No, it'll only make things worse_ Tactical Trooper thought, almost as if though he read his brother's mind.

But that one moment was long enough for one person to notice.

"He's going after Ran"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice to find it was Infi who spilled the beans.

"He's going to try to kill Onii-chan again?" Sakra replied in fear.

"Yeah, it says so in the letter, a hidden message." Infi continued, causing the other two Chungs to let out a sigh. Their cover for Chaser was blown.

"He's right. Chaser is going after Ran alone." Paladin said.

For a few moments, everyone looked down in silence, until suddenly Sakra stood up and rushed to the door.

"Sakra! Where are you going!?" one of her sisters, Yama Raja yelled to her.

"I DON'T WANT THEM TO DIE!" Sakra yelled as she ran out the room and towards the front door.

"Guys, we need a plan, just wait!" Blade Master said in vain. By the time he said the words, they were already out the door.

"We don't have time for a plan!" Asura said as she too ran out after her sisters.

Lord Knight gave her a worried look as she went out the door and said to Blade Master "Let's go in two groups. One stays here in case he comes back, sounds good?"

Blade Master contemplated for a moment and said "Fine. That works"

"Good! Asura wait up!" the Knight said before running out into the night as well.

Then Rune and Infi started to run out towards the door, but the Blade Master cut them off as he spoke "And where are you two going?"

The two brothers looked at each other and then back to the Raven. Rune then replied "It might be our fault…he may have overheard us talking about Ran having an issue similar to Infi, and that there might be some good in him", his face clearly expressing his guilt. Even Infi felt a little guilty.

The Raven then spoke "Go then, otherwise you aren't going to catch up to them." before walking back to the living room.

"Right!" the two Elswords said at the same time before dashing out of the door.

Meanwhile, Void looked at them all from the window, and unlike usual, she looked slightly depressed.

"You okay Void?" The Blade Master asked before sitting down.

"I'm fine." She replied, though with a fake smile.

Though it managed to fool Blade as he said "Well, get some sleep, I'll take first watch."

"Okay." She said before walking to her room.

But as she walked to her bedroom, she thought _He didn't even ask me to go with him._

* * *

 _Mountain Range near the village of Fahrmann, 2:00 pm_

Chaser was on flat on the ground of a plateau of one of the mountains in the range. While it wasn't clear through his hood, he was tired. It had been a long time since he had done an all-nighter. He had even learned to sleep amidst the racket made by Trooper's tinkering.

He rubbed the bags under his eyes and then looked into his binoculars.

On the mountain across from him, clearly the tallest and largest of all the mountains in the range, stood a fortress that, from what Chaser could tell, used to be some sort of temple.

 _Maybe the Moon El is up there_ he thought as he zoomed in with the binoculars.

He looked around the fort to see demons almost everywhere. Some patrolled the outer walls, some sat in watch towers, and others stood tall on the roof.

"Guess a frontal assault won't work here." He said out loud. The mountain was too steep for him to run up it and to the gates before the archers in the towers got their aim.

He looked around, considering the possibilities.

 _Can't go from the right or left either then. And the mountain covers the back of it. So that leaves…_ he thought before he started to look up the mountain.

He then saw a lone watch tower on top, and from what he could tell, the guard up there was clearly snoozing on the job.

"Above." He said as he put away his binoculars. He then crept away until the fort was out of view.

He already had a strategy in mind as he let himself slide down the mountain he stood on.

 _I'll climb up the back, take out the guard, and glide down. And then sneak in._

After he hit the base of the mountain, he then began to walk to the left. Using the mountains as cover, he was going to flank the mountain fortress. He couldn't afford any mistakes here.

As he walked around the mountain chain, going across a few bridges in the process, he occasionally climbed up to check to see he was walking in the correct direction and make sure they hadn't noticed him.

After he passed the fourth mountain, he suddenly heard the clanking of armor.

Almost instinctively, he threw himself into the nearest place he could hide. It was an old oriental style building that had clearly taken damage considering the scorch marks and the missing chunks of the building.

As the marching came closer, he took a chance to look out the window.

He then saw a squad of demon soldiers, lined up behind a larger demon, marching down the path he had taken moments ago.

 _Guess they have patrols down here too_ the blonde boy thought.

Suddenly, one of the demons stopped and said "I smell human!"

At first, Chaser pulled out his two pistols, fearing there would be no choice but to fight and lose his chance at stealth.

However, his fears were put to rest as the demon captain replied "You're probably smelling the human remains of the area. They used to inhabit this place you know."

The demon looked down in embarrassment as he spoke "Forgive me sir" before getting back in line with with his squad.

They then proceeded to continue heading down the path. After a few moments, Chaser let out a sigh.

"That was close" he thought out loud before getting up and leaving the building.

As he continued to circle around, he was now much more cautious, keeping to where he could hide.

After another 10 minutes, he finally managed to get to the base of the mountain behind the demon's fortress. He then pulled out two small sickles from the backpack he bought with him. He then shoved one of the blade's into the mountain and pulled down. The tool barely budged. The rocks were solid.

He then proceeded to climb up the sheer rock face, using the sickles to pull himself upward and using his feet to keep his balance.

As he climbed up, every now and then, he felt a cold gush of wind brush his side. It was as if though the wind was trying to push him off. Yet he kept his pace and didn't let his grip fail him.

 _Not letting some stupid wind kill me now. Not when I'm so close_ Chaser thought during one of these gusts.

After about an hour or so of climbing, he finally made it to the top, which was crusted with snow.

He looked up at the watch tower. He was right on the money still it seemed since no guards announced the presence of an intruder.

He then quietly made his way to the tower and climbed up the ladder.

As he poked his head into the small booth, he saw the demon soldier from before, still sleeping on the job.

He then walked as close as he could to the demon and quickly shot it with a silenced shot.

The demon died instantly, not even letting out a sound before falling the rest of the way to the ground.

 _So far so good_ the assassin thought before going back down the ladder.

He then climbed towards the edge of the mountain peak and looked at the fort below.

He was in a perfect position. While the outer roofs of the fort were covered with guards, the central building had no such security. After all, they thought they were protected from above.

Chaser then pulled out a foldable glider from his pack. As he set himself up, he thought _hopefully the wind won't throw me off too much._

He then backed away from the ledge, preparing himself for a running start.

"Well, here goes nothing!" he said before running off the cliff.

While aiming the glider mostly downward, he went up every now and then to reduce the speed of his descent, for every time he picked up speed, not only did he worry about falling right into the fort and breaking all of his bones, but it also chilled him to the bone as the cold air rushed past his face.

However, he was lucky. A majority of the wind was being blocked by the mountain behind him, making only small adjustments necessary as he glided down to the fortress.

As the roof came closer and closer, he quickly slew himself down by raising the glider upwards.

Before long, his feet came into contact with the roof. Nearly biting his tongue in the process, he made a quick landing and closed the glider so it wouldn't fly away.

As he put away the glider he looked around, checking to see if any of the guards noticed him. However, all of them seemed to be doing the same routines as before.

He then hid the pack somewhere close. He no longer needed the contents of the bag, but had to make sure they wouldn't find it before he escaped.

He then walked to the ledge of the building and looked down. Compared to the outside, the interior of the fortress was much less guarded, though that wasn't the primary focus of Chaser's attention.

He was looking at the floor below him, looking for a window without light behind it. He needed to sneak inside the main building with no detection.

 _If anything, I bet that villain is sitting on his throne in the centermost room, just like when he tried to use Sasha back in the Temple of Water_ he thought as he searched.

He then found what he was looking for: a window that was not lit like the rest. It was the perfect place for him to enter undetected.

He then carefully climbed down while keeping one hand attached to the ledge of the roof, using the other to silently open the window. No one was in what seemed to be some sort of bedroom. He then swung himself forward, letting go of the roof ledge in the process, and landed silently in the room. He then carefully closed the window behind him.

Afterwards, he cupped his hand next to the interior door, trying to listen for any footsteps of nearby guards.

When he was sure there was no one, he then crept out of the room, jumping to the ceiling rafters moments after stepping into the hall.

He then ran down the rafters and towards the nearby intersection, taking a left in order to head towards the center of the temple.

He then came across the entrance to the central chamber. He looked around to check for guards.

 _Seems clear_ he thought before jumping down.

He then walked through the doorway. But much to his confusion, the room was dark, the black filling up the space.

It took him a few moments to realize what was going on.

 _It's too quiet…_ he thought.

He then suddenly felt a surge of bloodthirsty intent and rolled to the side.

Chaser looked back to where he stood moments ago, seeing a blood red blade had scarred the floor. And the one holding that blade was:

"Ran!" Chaser said, his voice filled with hate.

"Well, seems you've improved, brat." The silver haired demon earl said before snapping his fingers.

Suddenly, several torches lit the room, revealing the demons that had laid in waiting for the blonde assassin.

"I knew you would come, so I thought I might as well be prepared." Ran said as he pulled his sword out of the floor.

The blonde looked around the room for a moment before saying "What? Can't fight me alone demon?"

Ran looked at him and asked "Hmm? You want to fight me 1 on 1 or something?"

Though his question was answered as he looked at the assassin's face; it was clear he was ready to fight.

The earl laughed for a moment before holding his hand in the halt signal, causing his soldiers to step back.

"Very well, I'll humor your last request. I'll even let you attack first" the Earl spoke as he raised his blade.

Chaser replied "You're going to regret that."

The blonde then charged towards him at high speed, catching Ran by surprise. Chaser swung his cannon to the side, swatting Ran towards the wall.

Though managing to block the attack with his sword, his back hit the wall, which broke from the force of the attack.

Ran managed to skid to a stop, but it was clear he was surprised.

 _This is not the brat I remember!_ he thought before the Chung dashed towards him once more to continue their duel to the death.

* * *

 _Demon Fortress near Fahrmann, 3:14 am_

All throughout the mountainside temple-fortress, the sounds of steel clashing with steel could be heard from the central chambers.

After Ran had been thrown through the wall earlier, he and the Deadly Chaser began to exchange in barrages of furious attacks.

By now, Chung was using both of his pistols along with his cannon. The speed of his attacks was giving the demon Earl Ran no time to make attacks of his own.

"Tch, I underestimated him!" the demon muttered before jumping back, preparing to make his counter attack. It was clear to him now that holding back would be a bad idea.

But Chung didn't give Ran the time to compose himself, jumping right in the air at him with extreme speed, using the force of a cannon shot midair to boost his speed.

 _CRAP!_ the Earl thought before bringing his blade over his head to block the incoming cannon swing from above.

Just like before, while blocking the brunt of attack, he couldn't stop himself from being thrown back from the force of the attack.

As he fell towards the outer wall of the central building, Chaser started shooting his bullets from his pistols at the demon Earl.

However, the demon earl managed to block the attacks. But just as he finished parrying away all of the assassin's attacks, he realized he fell for a trap.

Because now, the Chaser was next to him once again, his cannon already in mid swing for an upward attack.

This time, the attack hit Ran dead-center, causing him to not only go through the roof of the building, but out of the fort as well.

Soon enough, Ran was skidding down the side of the mountain, with the chaser following suit as he jumped out of the fort.

Ran then summoned his black claw and directed it towards the Chaser who was still in the air.

 _Got him!_ The Earl thought.

But to his surprise, Chaser quickly used a cannon shot to launch him to the side, dodging the claw.

Chaser then landed in a skidding form and started shooting at Ran, forcing him to roll out of the way.

It was now a downhill battle with the two exchanging ranged attacks. However, it didn't last for long.

As Ran dodged another set of the Chaser's magic bullets, the Chaser once again flew towards him using his cannon shots shot backward to increase him momentum.

Ran didn't have the proper footing to block the incoming tackle, causing the two of them to fall towards the village of Fahrmann below.

They landed with a loud crash, dust and dirt filling the air around them as their lading made a small crater.

As the dust settled, it could be seen that Ran was the one who landed first and on his back. And standing on top of him, gun pointed at the Earl's head, was the Deadly Chaser.

"Finally…it's finally time Ran…" he exclaimed, a smile that spoke of slight insanity.

Ran tried to move but found that he couldn't. The heavy cannon that was now laid on his chest kept him from moving.

"Finally, you'll pay for your crimes!" Chaser said before putting the gun closer to the Earl's head.

But he noticed that he couldn't pull the trigger.

 _Why?_ He thought.

 _Is it because he's the Aras' brother?_ His train of thought continued.

"DOOOONNNN'TTT!" a voice yelled out.

Chaser looked towards the source of the voice. And of all people, he saw just who he was thinking of, one of the Ara's that he had become friends with, Sakra Devanam.

But then, he suddenly felt something in his abdomen. It felt cold.

"CHUNG!" Sakra Devanam cried out.

He then looked down and noticed a red blade in his abdomen, coughing up blood in the process.

"Fool" Ran said as he tossed him off to the side.

Ran then got up and saw the others running to the scene behind Sakra.

"Guess I should retreat for the time being" he muttered before running in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, Deadly Chaser was barely conscious, Sakra by his side.

Sakra cried "Chaser! Please don't die! Rune, help him!"

But before the others could come to his side, his vision faded to black.

* * *

 _El Scouts' House, City of Velder, 3:00 pm_

The sun was now high in the sky, giving off its light to the ground below with not a single cloud to block its rays of light.

Despite the nice weather, the members of the El Scouts were worried and depressed.

While it was a relief Chaser survived the stab wound to his abdomen, he was still unconscious. And it was clear from the atmosphere in the infirmary; the members in there were divided.

Rune and Infinity Sword leaned on the wall, worried about their friend, but giving the others some space. Meanwhile, Sakra Devanam sat next to his bed, and she had clearly been crying for a good amount of time, even with her sister Raja comforting her.

Chaser's brothers sat on the other side, having guilty looks on their faces as they went back and forth between faces of sorrow and guilt.

And in front of the bed, Wind Sneaker and Blade Master stood, though while the Raven showed some signs of remorse, the Rena had been crying a bit as well, though not as much as Sakra.

"Why? Why did it have to come to this?..." Sakra muttered as she cried.

"There there Sakra" Raja said as she patted her sister's shoulder.

"I can't believe he would run off like that…and this would happen!" Wind said before grabbing onto Blade for comfort. The swordsman patted her head before saying "Well, he's been devoted to revenge for a long time. I know because I once treaded that path…even though it isn't the right one."

"If only we were quicker…" Rune said, his words echoing into the minds of his friends.

For a moment, the room went quiet, besides the sounds of Sakra's bawling.

"True, but Ran did so much to us back in Hamel. If you ask me, he's probably lost all of his humanity." Paladin spoke, which caused Sakra's crying to become louder.

"Paladin, shut up…" Raja said, slightly annoyed at his remark.

But Paladin didn't notice Raja as he continued "Honestly, he's just a low down cowar-"

But before he could finish, Raja walked around the bed and slapped him across the face.

"Big brother!" Trooper cried out as he caught Paladin mid-fall.

"I dare you to say that again, trap." Raja exclaimed, who was clearly on the verge of snapping.

"Hey! That's enough!" The Blade Master yelled. He then walked over between the two parties and spoke "I know a lot has happened and none of us are in a good mood. So let's all take a breath and calm down before this gets out of hand!"

The Ara let out a sigh as she replied "I'm sorry, I lost my composure" before walking back over to her sister.

"I don't need you to protect me Raven" Paladin said as he got back up. But just before Raven could get angry at his remark, he said "But, you have a point, we're all high-strung at the moment."

After a moment or two of silence, Rena put on her usual smile as she suggested "How about you all get some sleep! It'll help!"

"I'm fine. I want to make sure Chaser is okay…" Sakra answered, even though she had bags under her eyes.

"Yeah, same here" Rune said, though he also had a bit of black under his eyelids.

Raja then said to Sakra "Don't worry, he'll be okay soon!" before getting up to leave the room.

Paladin yawned as he got up. He then said "Yeah, guess I do need some sleep" before following suit.

Soon enough, both Trooper and Infi decided to hit the hay as well, leaving Rune, Blade, Wind, and Sakra in the room with the unconscious spiky haired blonde assassin.

However, Wind started to doze off before Blade caught her mid-fall.

"I think you should take your own advice" he said as he lifted the elf back up.

"I'll be fine!" she replied, though it was clear to everyone she wasn't.

Then Rune's voice rang through the room "It's my fault…"

Everyone looked towards the redhead, who had his head down towards the ground.

"If me and Infi didn't talk about the fact Ran might be like Infi's inner demon, then maybe he wouldn't have went out there alone like that" he explained. He felt guilty about the events that transpired.

"It's not your fault." Paladin said from the doorway. The group was surprised he hadn't went to bed yet.

"Why are you still awake? Didn't you say you were going to bed?" Rena said, slightly confused.

Paladin let out a yawn before saying "Well, I needed a moment to think is all. And I'm sorry Ms. Sakra. I was out of line saying that about Aren."

This brightened the Ara's mood slightly as she replied "Thank you."

Rune then butted in and spoke "But, we still motivated Chaser to-"

Paladin then sighed as he said "It's ok, Chaser wasn't the only one eavesdropping you know. And I do agree with you somewhat. Especially after that whole incident with Infi"

"Really?" both Rune and Sakra spoke, surprised that the same person who tried to kill Ran back in Hamel was willing to think there was any good left in Ran.

"Thing is, Chaser would have went after Ran eventually. He's always been the most obsessed with killing Ran." Paladin explained.

"Really?" Rune said, slightly surprised once again. He had always thought Paladin was the one more obsessed.

"I will admit I have wanted to defeat Ran for a while. But Chaser, he suffered a lot more back when Ran overtook Hamel." He continued. The rest of the group suddenly held quiet, even Sakra Devanam, who stopped crying for the moment. None of them had ever heard the Chungs actually talk about their past in detail.

"The thing is, Chaser was actually with our father when he became corrupted. He watched it happen. He feels like it was his fault the fall of Hamel occurred in the first place."

* * *

 _Fields near Hamel, 2:00 pm, 3 Years Ago…_

"Dad, can't we take a rest?" Prince Chaser Seiker complained. His short blonde hair was wet with sweat. They had been marching with the main force of the Scouting Regiment of the Hamel Armed Forces since early that morning. They both had to march in their heavy white armor. And to make matters worse, it was in the middle of summer, which meant they had to march through sticky and hot weather.

"Not yet my son, we'd be setting a bad example for the troops" his father, Helputt, spoke. Chaser looked behind them to see their forces looking at his father with respect and admiration.

Chaser let out a sigh as he said "I guess you have a point" before swinging his cannon back onto his shoulder.

 _I swear, this cannon is way too heavy. I should get something smaller sooner or later_ Chaser complained in his thoughts.

Then his Father bonked him in the head, as if though reading his thoughts.

"Oww!" Chaser yelped, rubbing his head afterwards to soothe the pain.

"The reason we use these weapons is because it's tradition." Helputt spoke before he continued to walk forward.

Chaser than ran forward to catch back up with his father as he asked "I know that, but, does that mean we can't use anything else?"

Helputt raised his head and scratched his chin, as if pondering his son's thoughts. He then petted his son's head as he said "That doesn't sound like a bad idea. Maybe it'll be your personal style."

Chaser smiled at his father's praise. "But, you need to train your skills in your cannon-ship more before you do something more advanced" his father spoke, causing the boy to be embarrassed.

Suddenly, one of their soldiers ran towards the two from the direction they were headed. As the soldier came closer, Chaser could see the emblem on the man's arm was a pair of boots with a red band around them, symbolizing he was a member of the Advance Scouting Unit.

"What's the report?" Helputt asked the soldier, his tone now serious.

The soldier then replied "We found a large group of enemy soldiers. We believe it is the enemy scouting regiment!"

The White Colossus thought carefully about this information before asking "Their number?"

The soldier then replied "About 100 sir!"

The Colossus then signaled one of his lieutenants from the crowd of soldiers behind him.

"Sir! What do you need?" the lieutenant replied.

Helputt said to the lieutenant "There is a decent sized enemy scouting regiment ahead of us, but we should be able to surround them, about 100. I need your men to take the right flank. Is that clear?"

"YES SIR!" the man replied before heading towards the soldiers to give them their orders.

As the scout went to join them, Helputt then asked his son "So, are you ready for your first real battle?"

This was going to be the first serious battle Chaser had ever been in, considering most duels in the city tended to avoid fatalities.

"Yes sir!" his son replied.

Chaser looked through the bushes to see group they were up against. The demon regiment was probably right around the amount the scouts had estimated. They had set themselves up in a forest clearing with a few old ruins, not far from the fields the Hamel's Scouting regiment had been in not long ago.

From what Chaser could tell, the Hamelians had split into two groups to surround the clearing. They planned to take out the demons by attacking from all sides. It was a simple yet sound plan. The Hamelians clearly had the advantage in numbers and surprise.

Yet, even though his father stood next to him, Chung felt uneasy.

 _Maybe it's because this is my first battle?_ He thought.

But before he could ponder further, a small flash of light shone through the trees on the other side of the clearing. It was the signal the encirclement was complete.

"CHARGE!" his father yelled, rallying the troops to run ahead and out into the clearing.

As Chaser ran into the opening himself, he then suddenly froze. That uneasy feeling only became worse.

Just as the demons noticed the enemy troops, one of them quickly used a blowhorn, sending a signal throughout the woods.

"IT'S A TRAP!" Chaser yelled right before the area around the clearing was ripped apart by explosions, followed by the appearance of a large amount of demon soldiers.

 _Were they hiding in the ground?_ He thought before pulling out his cannon.

He first shot 3 shots out towards the incoming enemies, blowing away a few, but the demons were quickly replaced.

"There's too many! FALL BACK!" his father yelled, running towards the boy before sending a missile towards the part of the encirclement in front of them.

The resulting explosion tore a hole through their lines, making an opening for them to escape.

But it was no use as a large demon suddenly came out of the forest, not only taking out the soldiers that had ran ahead of their commander, but attacking the commander himself.

"Father!" Chaser cried out. His cannon aimed at the giant demon.

But the demon was then tossed into the air, and then a cannonball went right into its gullet, ripping a hole through its body.

"Don't worry about me! Stay on guard!" Helputt said before swatting away a demon soldier.

"R-right!" Chaser replied before he turned behind him to do the same to another demon, though the demon he hit didn't fly as far as the one his father swatted away.

He then turned to his left to shoot a demon in the face with his cannon, the shot obliterated its head, leaving it no time to agonize.

He then turned behind him to see yet another large demon, though this one was rushing him this time instead of his father, and more important, this one had a sword in its hand.

He aimed his cannon at the demon, ready to shoot a missile right into its face.

He then pulled the trigger.

But nothing happened.

 _I'm out of ammo!_ Chaser thought in shock.

"CHUNG!" his father yelled.

 _I'm gonna die!_ He thought before he closed his eyes in fear.

But then, when he heard the sound of a sword entering flesh, he didn't feel it.

He then opened his eyes, the sight in front of him probably just as bad as what he thought was going to happen.

His father's left arm was impaled from his hand to his elbow, the sight of it almost making Chaser sick to his stomach.

"NO ONE TOUCHES MY FAMILY!" the Colossus yelled before using his free hand to send a cannonball right into its mouth.

As the demon fell to the ground, his father pulled out the sword, grunting from the pain as it left his body.

"FATHER! Your arm!..." Chaser spoke, feeling guilty for the injury.

"It's alright. This is nothing!" he said proudly before putting down his cannon for a moment to pull out a bottle filled with a potion.

"I just need a drink of this and I'-" he started to speak, before he began to stumble.

"FATHER!" Chaser cried out.

"Tch! This is why I hate poison." He said before he got back on his feet.

He then looked towards his son as he told him "You need to leave Chaser. I don't want to lose my son just because I had trouble moving."

"No!" his son said before pulling out his cannon, as well as his father's, towards the incoming enemies. "I'm not going to leave you!"

"But-"

"No buts!" Chaser retorted back to his father before taking down a group of enemies.

He then started shooting demons left and right, using the two cannons like dual RPGs. The strain of using the two massive weapons was brutal, but he was willing to take the pain if it meant protecting his family.

Just as it seemed he had taken out a majority of the demon forces in front of them, a humanoid figure appeared in the distance.

"Last one!" Chung said as he reloaded the two cannons and began shooting a barrage towards the figure.

However, the figure dodged the shots with ease, almost as if though he could see them coming.

"RUN CHUNG!" his father yelled.

However, just as Chaser looked back to his father, he heard a voice right next to his ear.

"You're weak, boy"

The demon then summoned a claw, separate from his body, and sent the boy flying into a wall of the ruins.

As Chaser's back hit the ruins, he coughed up blood. Soon enough, gravity took over as he fell to the ground, as well as some parts of the ruins that fell on top of him.

"CHUNG!" Helputt yelled. He then looked at the demon with a glare and quickly jumped up to attack him with a punch to the jaw.

But the punch didn't even reach the demon's jaw. Instead, his fist was now caught in the grey-skinned demon's grip.

The demon then laughed before saying "And here I thought the great Helputt would be a challenge."

He then put his other hand around Helputt's throat, lifting the man off the ground.

Chaser watched in horror, trying to get his body to move. But at the moment, he didn't even have the strength to scream.

"Who…are…you?" Helputt asked the demon commander as he gasped for air.

"I am the demon earl, Ran, your new master." The demon replied as the claw from before reached into his pocket.

"I'll never obey a monster like you!" Helputt said, struggling against Ran's grip.

The claw then pulled out a black crystal from Ran's pocket. The gem held an ominous red glow.

"I beg to differ" Ran replied before the Claw jammed to crystal into the colossus's chest.

* * *

 _El Scouts' House, City of Velder, 10:00 pm_

"Father!" Chaser yelled as he sat up in his bed, his hand reaching out in front of him. He then looked around, confused for a moment.

He then calmed down and thought _I guess I had that nightmare, again._ He never told anyone else about how he kept having nightmares about that scene from 3 years ago. It was something he wasn't proud of.

 _It's my fault that happened. I was too inexperienced!_ He thought as he clenched his fist.

He then looked around the room and noticed Sakra Devanam and Wind Sneaker sleeping with their heads on his bed, while his brother Iron Paladin as well as Blade Master and Rune Slayer sleeping in chairs set around the room.

 _Oh yeah. Ran stabbed me…I guess they came to help…or stop me…_ he thought as he looked at the two girls.

He then brushed Sakra's hair for a moment as he thought _I know you don't want me to kill your brother…but he's done so much wrong._

He then carefully stepped out of the bed, making sure not to make a sound that would wake up the people around him.

"I have to do this…otherwise…I'll never be able to make up for my mistakes. Even if it means hurting you guys." He whispered, part of him hoping they weren't listening, as he made his way to the doorway.

"This is the only way, I'll truly be able to move on."

As he walked into the hall and towards his room to prepare for the upcoming fight, one of the people in the room opened one of his eyes. Its color was crimson.

He was expecting it would come to this, and let out a sigh.

"Idiot" he muttered.

* * *

 _In the halls of the Temple of Trials, Hamel, 1:00 am_

Chaser looked above him at the architecture of the ancient structure, the arches above lit by the glowing water on his sides.

He didn't think he would have to come here a second time. The last time he was here, he was forced to fight his corrupted father. With his friends, they managed to beat the darkness out of his father, but he chose to stay behind to fend off the demon armies. He had no idea what happened to him afterwards.

 _Please, be okay father…_ Chaser thought with his eyes closed before opening them again.

He looked down at the small handheld device in his right hand. It was rectangular with a single screen, which held two flashing dots.

The one at the bottom of the screen represented the device itself, or in other words, his current location.

The other represented the tracking device he slipped onto Ran during their fight back in Fahrmann. And it was close, the numbers next to the dot read just how close he was to his mortal foe.

 _Good thing I had a plan B_ he thought before he slipped the device back into his pocket.

 _But why is it so quiet? Did he come here alone or something?_ He thought before pulling out his cannon just in case.

As he turned the next corner, he jumped out, ready to shoot. But he found there were no enemies in sight.

He then walked forward towards the central chamber, his instincts ready to kick in at a moment's notice.

As he stepped onto the central dais, he moved his hand towards his pocket.

But a voice spoke "I was waiting for you, Chaser."

The Chung then looked up and behind him, seeing the demon earl sitting in his floating throne.

"I know what you're thinking. You want to end this, right?" the demon earl said as he floated down.

As the throne touched the floor, he picked himself up, the chair disappearing into thin air.

"Well, this time, I plan on fighting you with the respect you deserve. Face to face." Ran announced as he pulled his Rapier from its scabbard.

Chaser looked at him, and saw that despite he was looking at the demon he hated, he smiled. He could see the demon earl was taking him seriously.

"Is that so? I hope you're ready for it then!" Chaser said as he pulled out his cannon.

Soon enough, the two stared down at each other, walking around the dais in a circle.

Just as the tension reached its climax, the two suddenly dashed at each other.

While Chaser aimed to have his cannon hit Ran in the side of his head, Ran summoned his demon claw to punch Chaser in the opposite direction.

However, Ran's attack was faster, the impact of the fist sent chaser flying to the left. But the assassin recovered quickly, shooting with his twin pistols as he flew through the air.

However, Ran moved quickly, dodging the shots, save for the one that grazed his leg. But it wasn't enough to slow the man down as he closed the distance with Chaser.

Chaser then shot a cannon shot behind him to propel himself forward.

He then pulled out his two guns moments before he entered Ran's field of attack.

Ran then made his claw slash horizontally. But Chaser quickly dodged the attack before trying to fire a shot right between Ran's eyes.

Ran dodged the bullet with a quick shift of his head, but was grazed as Chaser bought his pistol to the other side of his face to bash him with its barrel.

Ran then started attacking with his sword and the claw, the two moving in unison, while Chaser used his guns to counter him. Both continued to dodge each other's attacks and counters.

However, the clash didn't last for long.

Suddenly, a second claw appeared out of nowhere and punched the chaser in the side of the head, sending him flying in a cartwheel motion towards the edge of the dais.

"What the? Two!?" he yelled in shock.

"Yes, and that's not all, boy." Ran replied before the first claw suddenly moved with extreme speed to grab the Chung without a single hand motion from Ran.

"I don't need to use my hands to control them. I just find it costs less to do so." He explained with a grin on his face.

Chaser was shocked. He thought he had seen all of Ran's abilities back when they fought in the Halls of Water.

"But just for the record, I developed this after that botch –up in the Water Temple." Ran continued before the claw then threw Chaser towards the wall above the entrance.

The force of the impact was intense, coughing Chaser to cough up blood. He then fell to the floor, its sound making a loud 'thud' as he hit the ground.

Ran then began to walk towards him, his blade at his side as he spoke "So at the very least, I do thank you for making me take my battles more seriously. But now…it's time to die"

 _Am I….going to die?..._ he thought as he tried to raise his head to see his foe.

Just as Chaser was ready to give up this struggle, a missile struck Ran right in the face, throwing him back towards the other side of the dais.

Chaser watched the scene in surprise, blinking as if he'd seen a ghost or hallucination.

"Hey, shouldn't you still be in bed idiot?" a voice spoke as it helped him get up off the ground.

Chaser then looked around to see Rune was the one holding him up. And more importantly, he saw that not only did the other two Chungs had come with him, but the Aras and Lord Knight as well.

"Guys…why are you?" Chaser started to ask.

But Paladin cut him off as he said "Because, we aren't going to let one of our family go off to fight someone like Ran alone."

Trooper then added "Yeah! All for one and one for all, right?"

Yama Raja did a quick facepalm before complaining "Trooper, you are such a bookworm."

"You don't have to fight alone Chaser!" Sakra said with a smile.

Asura gave him a smile as well as she asked "After all, we're friends, aren't we?"

Chaser looked at them, stunned at the words they said.

 _Maybe…I've already started moving forward…_

He then gave them a smile as well before saying "Yeah!"

Lord Knight then yelled "Alright! Let's go! For Chaser and Aren!" before dashing onto the dais towards the still recovering Ran.

* * *

 _Temple Of Trials, Hamel, 1:10 am_

"Guys, give me some cover!" Lord Knight yelled out to his friends as he ran towards the demon earl.

"Got it!" Trooper yelled in reply as he and Paladin shifted their stance to start shooting a cover barrage of cannonballs.

"Tch, damn brats!" Ran furiously shouted before dashing towards Lord Knight. However, he did not reach him before one of the shells grazed his cheek.

He then quickly jumped up in the air, using the explosions below to propel himself.

He then began to say to himself "I need to get rid of…"

But then he noticed three presences right above him.

It was all three of the Aras, their spears already in motion to attack.

 _How did they get so high?_ he asked in his mind. He then saw that a glimpse of missiles flying away from the Aras.

 _They rode the missiles up?_ he thought in shock

The spears hit him in the back and head as the girls made a somersault attack, though none of the spearheads pierced his body.

However, he was not focused on that at the moment. Instead, his attention was on the person he was sent flying towards.

And he looked like he was about to release some sort of area attack.

"IRON…" Iron Paladin spoke, ready to release his attack.

"Shit!" Ran said as he fell into Iron Paladin's range of attack.

Paladin then let out a loud howl, causing Ran's body to go completely numb from the war cry.

Chaser watched the battle in surprise, amazed at his friends' strength.

"When did you guys get so-" he began to ask Rune, who was standing next to him, drawing a rune.

"I guess you need to pay attention to your friends more" he said with a smirk.

"Also, what kind of rune is that?" Chaser questioned the redhead. The rune Rune was drawing in the air was much more complex than any of the runes he had seen the redhead use.

"It's kinda hard to explain, so just watch" Rune answered as he carefully drew the next part of the spell.

"Rune! Hurry up! I don't know what this secret move of yours is, but Paladin's howl isn't going to last much longer!" Lord Knight yelled from the other side of the dais.

Just as he finished his sentence, the Paladin ended his Iron Howling, taking deep heavy breaths in exhaustion.

"Miserable brat!" Ran shouted as he made one of his demon claws toss Iron Paladin aside.

"Take this!" Trooper yelled as he ran behind Ran to fire a red cannonball.

However, Ran quickly dodged the shot, trimming a strand or two of his hair in the process.

"Black BLADE!" he yelled as he made his rapier, filled with black demon energy, slash in a vertical arc towards the ground, sending a wave of the black energy towards Trooper and the others.

The attack caused all of the to be pushed back, save for Sakra, who managed to move to the side at the last second.

"Tch! Why are you so persistent!?" Ran loudly asked his sister as he sent out more of the same attack.

As she dodged them, she answered "Because, you're my family!"

The last of his attacks seemed to head directly towards her. Ran smiled as he thought _finally I'll be rid of that pest!_ But then the attack was cut through, much to his surprise.

"What!?" he responded right before Sakra hit him with the butt end of the spear, sending him flying upwards.

"Dammit!" Ran said as he recovered in the air.

"RAN! IT'S OVER!" a voice yelled out from behind him.

He looked behind him to see Rune flying in the air towards him, much to everyone's surprise. Even Chaser hadn't noticed him move from the position he was in before.

And more importantly, in his right hand the rune he just drew glowed with a brilliant golden light.

 _What is that!?_ Ran thought in fear.

Meanwhile, in Rune's mind, he was remembering what the hooded man had told him before.

* * *

" _So, you're trying to make a Rune to purify this Aren fellow?" The hooded man asked him as they sat near the campfire._

" _Yeah. For some reason, when I fought him before, for a moment, his eye color changed when he heard his sister cry out his name." Rune replied, still slightly dazed from when he fell from the cliffs above._

" _Hmm, I don't think it'll work for your friend here" the man said as he looked at Rune's brother, Infi. "But that's only due to the fact his manifested by his own will."_

" _I see" Rune replied, though slightly confused._

" _However, in the case of Ran, I can give you some pointers" the man spoke, which instantly raised Rune's spirits._

" _Really? Can you tell me?" he asked the man._

 _The man smiled as he began to speak._

" _Of course."_

" _Essentially, you first need to think of things as such. Every soul is made of good and evil. It all depends on which side is more dominant." He explained to the redhead._

" _I guess that makes sense…" Rune commented as he let the information sink in._

" _However, it is possible to influence changes to this dominance, such as putting energy into one's body that causes their less dominant side to gain enough power to shift the balance." The man continued._

 _Rune then suddenly got the idea as he asked "Like how Infi absorbed all that dark El?"_

 _The man smiled again as he said "Yes, exactly."_

 _Rune then asked the man "But why would a purification technique work on Ran and not Infi?" with some confusion._

" _Because, he took the corrupted power with his won will. Aren on the other hand, as you described it, did not. To put simply, someone made him the way he is" the man explained._

 _Rune nodded, his eyes yelling the man he had a much better idea of the hooded man's explanation than earlier._

" _Basically, what you need to do is imagine you are splitting the oppressor and the oppressed into two. Or in other words, divide."_

* * *

"Purify…." Rune began to speak as he pulled his hand back to hit Ran with the heel of his palm, the glow of the rune in his hand becoming more intense.

Ran watched as he flew to him in shock. Other than the shining rune in his hand, he noticed something else in particular.

The redhead's eyes began to shimmer for a moment. For just a few seconds, the boy's eyes glowed a brilliant emerald green.

"DIVIDE!" Rune yelled out the name of his attack as he drove it straight into the demon earl's stomach.

At first, it seemed to merely force the air out of him. Then suddenly, his body began to split into two figures. The one who fell back was that of Ran. The other was a male with long jet black hair and pale skin.

"No way…" Chaser said in shock. He and everyone else in the room never saw this as a possibility.

"Aren…" Sakra said silently, a tear falling down her face.

"Sakra! Catch him!" Rune yelled as he pulled him palm away from Aren as he fell.

"R-right!" she said as she quickly ran towards where she guessed he would land.

"C'mon guys! Get a move on! Let's finish this!" he shouted towards the other members of the team in the chamber.

"Right!" Yama Raja yelled as she jumped up towards the falling Ran.

As he fell Ran muttered "Dammit! Where did all my power go? Is it because Aren is no longer a part of me?"

"That's right!" Yama said as she reached the peak of her jump, causing Ran to flinch.

 _I can't dodge in this state!_ He thought as his rage at the separation turned into fear at the fact that he was now at the El Search Party's mercy.

"For all the trouble you caused my brother, TAKE THIS!" Yama said as she shot some orbs of spirit energy at the demon.

All of the shots hit dead on, even if they weren't massively powerful.

But nonetheless, it had the desired effect, redirecting his fall slightly.

Right into Asura's attack.

"Night Parade of One-Hundred Souls!" she yelled as she released her attack, causing an upward spiral of souls to be released upwards.

"TCH!" came out of Ran's mouth as he tried to block the attack. But he wasn't able to block the brunt of the attack, sending him flying upwards once more.

Just as Asura finished the skill, she then began to fall over. However, Lord Knight quickly caught her mid-fall.

"You okay?" Knight asked the Ara as she looked at his face in embarrassment.

"I'm fine! J-just exhausted is a-all" she replied with a red face.

Knight looked at her slightly confused, until he noticed that one of hands happened to be holding her butt.

"Sorry!" he said as he quickly moved his hand to a different spot, equally embarrassed.

"SATELLITE RAIN!" Trooper's voice yelled from a little bit away, drawing their attention but to the battle.

The missile went off near Ran's face, sending a hurl of the missiles summoned by it right at Ran's face. The explosions caused Ran to fall back towards the ground.

But more importantly, right towards the recovered Iron Paladin.

And his cannon was already in motion towards the ground.

"DOOM STRIKE!" he cried out as he used his hyperactive attack, the resulting explosions sending Ran upwards once again.

As he flew up, the thought _Is this my end? How is this happening!?_ went through his mind.

In his last moments, he saw the middle brother of the Chung's, Chung Chaser Seiker, with his cannon aimed towards him.

"SHOOTING STAR: MAXIMUM!" Chaser shouted as hundreds of missiles were fired out of the cannon, which cracked just as the last missile left its barrel.

"Damn it all!" Ran spoke right before the missiles flew towards him all at once, the following explosion vaporizing the demon earl as his voice was silenced

As the dust settled, all that remained of him fell to the floor. A single demon horn, which before long disintegrated, leaving nothing behind.

After a few moments, a voice most of the party hadn't heard before spoke:

"S-Sakra…is that you?"

All three of the Ara sisters cried in joy, the other two rushing towards their older brother's side as Sakra replied "Welcome back Onii-chan."

Everyone else then began to cheer "WE DID IT!" in victory, giving out high fives all over the place.

Paladin and Trooper even began to start tossing Rune into the air.

"Hey guys! Quit it!" rune yelled, even though it was clear he was enjoying it.

As Chaser and Sakra watched him from their own respective locations, both of them thought:

 _It's thanks to him…he found a way to save Aren and beat Ran._

However, as Sakra watched the redhead laugh as everyone started to toss him around the place, she couldn't help but blush a little.

* * *

 _El Scout's House, City of Velder, 3:01 pm_

"Onii-chan, say ahh" Yama said as she held a spoon with a bit of soup in it.

"Ahh." He said as Yama fed him the soup.

"Is it good?" she asked her brother.

He simply smile and replied "It's delicious."

"Bro-con" Chaser said from the bed next to Aren's. Everyone else in the room giggled about it, save for Yama who pouted at the remark until Aren told her "Just relax, it was a joke."

Chaser watched them with a smile. He never thought the day he would be in a hospital bed next to his former enemy would ever come. But he was glad.

 _In the end, Ran wasn't the only one saved_ he thought.

"Something on your mind that involves black hair and oppai dood?" Rune whispered in the blonde boy's ear with a sneer on his face.

"N-no! I'm just happy they could make up is all!" Chaser stuttered. He had never even thought of Yama in that way, that is, until rune mentioned it.

Rune continued teasing the still recovering assassin as he said "Sureeeeee, then what's your excuse for looking at he-"

"Oh Rune, are you teasing Chaser?" a scary and demonic voice spoke from behind him.

"Just who's chest are you staring at?" another equally chilling voice whispered in his ear.

He looked behind him to see Wind Sneaker, who looked like she might pop a vein and go on a rampage of leg breaking, and Aisha Elemental Master, who he learned from experience that it was a bad idea to make snap.

"I'll back away now…" he whimpered as he backed away from the infirmary bed, giving space for Wind Sneaker as well as Chaser's brothers to visit.

"I can't believe you did something so reckless Chaser!" Sneaker said before hugging him, which also caused him to suffocate.

"W-wind…you're c-choking me!" he struggled to speak.

"Oh sorry! Force of habit!" she said as she let him go, slightly embarrassed.

Meanwhile from the back of the room, Rune was consoling Elemental Master so she wouldn't snap from jealously.

Trooper then spoke "Who are you kidding? If anyone, he's the most reckless of us!" with a bit of laughter.

Paladin then smacked him in the back of his head as he told him "Have some respect!"

"Sorry!" Trooper whimpered, worried that the next hit from his older brother would mean he would be the next one to be bedridden in the infirmary.

Both Asura and Lord Knight let out a laugh at the Trooper's whimpering from a bonk on the head. Even Sakra couldn't help but giggle slightly. Soon enough Trooper was as red as Rune and Lord Knight's hair. The only one not laughing was Wind Sneaker who was trying to comfort him.

"It's okay Trooper."

"I know, but…"

As the two of them continued their conversation, Chaser turned his attention towards Rune. Something had been on his mind ever since they came back from the Temple.

"Hey Rune, I want to ask you something" he spoke, beckoning for him to come closer.

Rune shrugged and replied "Go ahead. Shoot."

"Rune, what exactly was that move you used to separate Ran and Aren?" the blonde boy asked the Rune Slayer.

This caused just about everyone to drop silent. It was apparent that the question had also been on their minds.

Rune let out a sigh as he answered "It was a purification rune, based on the idea of dividing, or exorcising, one's evil side that had forcibly oppressed their good side. Basically, the evil side, Ran was keeping Aren down by force."

For a moment, the room continued to be silent until chaser asked a second question.

"How did you know Aren was still there?"

Rune scratched his his head as he said "Well, back when we fought in the halls of water before, I noticed when Sakra cried out his name, for a moment, his eye color changed to brown, like the Ara's eyes. After that, I decided to look to see if there was some way to save him somehow."

Paladin stroked his hand on his chin as he thought out loud "Yeah, I guess that would make sense. Maybe he wasn't turned into a demon by choice."

"Though I would have never completed that technique if Infi didn't run out on us before." Rune said with a shrug.

Elemental Master had a good idea of what he was talking about. He had told her the night after about the hooded man who saved Rune's and Infi's lives.

"I can tell you, you are right about the fact I was turned into ran by force." Aren spoke, clutching his hand slightly.

He then put his other hand to his head as he spoke "But, I don't remember what happened very well. All I remember is someone, someone human-like, not demon at all, held me by the collar. That and his laughter."

Everyone fell silent from hearing this.

Rune let out a sigh as he complained "And now we have yet another mystery."

Sakra then looked at Aren and said "Don't worry Onii-chan! We'll make sure that whoever they are, we'll put a stop to them!"

Yama put up her spoon in the air and added "Yeah! That guy needs to pay for messing with our family!"

Even Paladin joined in as he said "Yeah! He's also by chain of command responsible for Ran attacking Hamel! So he needs to be brought to justice!"

Aren put his hands up, trying to calm down everyone, though it failed as Yama, Sakra, and Paladin started to cheer about how they would beat up the mysterious man.

Even Rune and the others joined in before long, which caused Grand Archer to yell at them for being too loud.

And though it wasn't noticed, as the all fooled around, Sakra couldn't help but look at Rune every now and then with a blush.

And every time she did, she quickly looked away as she thought _What am I thinking!? I am grateful to him,( and think he's cute), BUT wouldn't that be indecent since he's already dating Aisha?_

After a half hour or so, everyone, save for Yama , Sakra, and the two lying in bed, began to leave the room, telling the two to get some rest and recover soon.

As Rune and Elemental walked down the hall together, Elemental looked at the boy beside her and asked "So, why did you choose to save Aren? I mean, other than the eye change part."

Rune let out a sigh as he replied "Can't get anything past you, can I?"

He then put his hands behind his head and with a sincere face explained "Well, not long after our battles in Hamel ended, Rena asked me to grab everyone for dinner. And when I came to Sakra's room, the door was slightly open. I ended up taking a peek through the door. She was in her bed, crying. So, part of me couldn't just stand by and let her suffer like that."

Elemental let out a sigh as she muttered "You're such a sucker for tears Rune."

"Yeah, can't help but agree with you on that." he replied with a goofy smile, which in turn made Aisha smile.

"But, I guess that's one of the reasons I like you." She said with a smile.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the building, Lord Knight and Asura were having a similar conversation.

"So, I bet you're happy that you have your brother back, right?" he said, slightly blushing.

"Of course! Though you were probably just as happy when you met your sisters again, right?" Ara said as she walked in front of him.

"True…" Lord Knight spoke.

The two of them then stopped in tracks, both fiddling their thumbs in such a way the other wouldn't notice.

Suddenly, Asura turned around just when Lord Knight raised his head, which was now as red as his hair.

Both of them looked like they were about to say something, but both of them were nervous as their faces became redder and redder.

After a few moments, Lord Knight broke the ice as he asked "I was wondering….would you like to go out for…a drink with me sometime?"

Asura twiddled her fingers as she responded "S-sure."

Soon enough, the two of them continued to nervously talk about when they would do so.

Around the corner of the hallway, Void Princess was sitting on the floor, her back next to the wall, and her head cradled in her knees and arms.

She was crying silently, and as she cried, she muttered "Why? What makes her so special? Elsword…."

* * *

 **WVH: Well, that's finally done**

 **RS: Yeah, and I have to say, I liked my role in this**

 **DC: Well, you are the main character of the facebook page**

 **CEm: I'm annoyed that I wasn't really included. But it's acceptable.**

 **MM: Why was I only used for comic relief!? This is an outrage!**

 **CN: Calm down before I make you calm down MM**

 **MM: Sorry…**

 **LK: At least now me x Asura is now official *is twiddling his fingers***

 **Asura: *doing the same* y-yeah**

 **BM: Now that I think about it, why haven't Lu and Ciel shown up in these?**

 **WVH: Well, storyboarding occurred before they got fully added**

 **BM: Makes sense…**

 **WVH: Anyhow! I hope everyone enjoyed this installment of RSFB Stories! Be sure to R &R and check again in the next few months or so for the next installment of this!**

 **RS: And if you get bored, just read about how awesome the Magician version of me is when WVH starts releasing the season finale chapters of The Magician starting next week or so!...oh I didn't get cut off for on-**


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